Term of Endearment
by relativestranger
Summary: Attn: this will be discontinued on FF. Sorry! But I will be updating over at AO3, so look for this there! Same title, same author. Hope to see you there! Thanks! Makoto just completed his first semester of college. With an abundance of change, what's one more? Just MakoHaru things!
1. Chapter 1

Dammit. As if I needed more distractions. Sigh. Enjoy things.

* * *

He stretches his arms over his head and sighs in relief. The cold air brushed at his cheeks and eyelashes and tickled his nose. "Dinner was delicious, Haru-chan. But you didn't have to treat me."  
"Lay off the -chan. And yes, I did. You just completed your first semester at uni. You deserve a celebration."  
"Will you do this when I complete my second semester?"  
"No," he replies briskly and continues, "by then, the novelty will have worn off."  
"Eh? That's so mean, Haru."  
Haru shrugs indifferently.  
Makoto glances up at the night sky, finding the bright moon. "It's getting cold. And late." Turning his head to Haru he observes, "and you're getting tired."  
"Am not," he lies unconvincingly as he covers his yawn.  
"My place is closer." _You can stay with me_.  
Haru didn't agree or disagree. Nor did he make any indication of having heard him. Makoto knows he'd say yes anyway.

* * *

Haru exits the bathroom after having soaked in the tub for the last 30 minutes. Dressed in Makoto's oversized t-shirt, he takes a seat next to Makoto at the small dining table. Still rubbing his hair dry, he mumbles unnecessarily, "your tub is still too small. Also, bathroom's free."  
Makoto glances at him, "it's not too small. It's the same size it's always been. I can't do anything about that, Haru." His eyes wonder to the bathroom, "I think I'll take a quick shower. Why don't you go to bed?"  
Haru nods imperceptibly, his eyes following as Makoto disappears into his bedroom and then the bathroom. He returns to rubbing his head.

The last five months had been rough. Haru was (and still is) on a rigorous training schedule. Makoto on the other hand, had been swamped with studying. And homework. And exams. And papers. The last two weeks had been particularly grueling for him; cramming for final exams and finishing final papers. They rarely had time to even send a quick text to let the other know that they were still alive much less hang out with each other. That's why when Makoto told him he just finished his final- _final_ exam of the semester, he invited him to the little ramen shop they had discovered their first week in Tokyo.  
He had missed his friend. He missed his voice. He missed their silences. He even missed him calling him Haru-chan. When had _that_ happened? He didn't think anything could top the anxiety he felt when he left to Australia with Rin last summer, but here he is. With all these... weird feelings. It's odd. And foreign. And un-chartered. And whatever else adjective you want to use.  
It's not like he's a _stranger_ to feelings. Despite his outward stoicism and monosyllabicism, he cares about quite a bit of people. One could even say he loves them. Although, good luck trying to pry it out of him. Nagisa and Rei are important people in his life. Gou too. Hell, even Sousuke in some weird, funky fashion that he would never admit out loud.  
But Makoto was Makoto. And feelings for Makoto are different. It always have been, all things considered. The only other person to stir up even a _fraction_ of those waves of feelings, is Rin. But it isn't quite the same. Not even close, really. Rin ignited within him a fire for competition. Whatever it is, they'd find a way to make a competition out of it. It's stupid. And silly. One might call it childish, even.  
With Makoto though... Makoto had the whole damn pie in an ocean of feelings. And now his metaphors are getting wonky.

It may not show on his face, but he feels _everything_ with Makoto. Annoyance. Acceptance. Joy and laughter. Sadness and regret. Even though they both made their apologies and moved past it, it still stung when he thinks about the awful things he said to him last summer after finding out his post high school plans. Makoto deserved none of that and the pain on his face when he said it hurt him almost as much as it did Makoto. (He wanted to say it hurt him more but Makoto was on the receiving end of Haru's nastiness so it definitely hurt Makoto more.)

So yeah. He understands the general concept of what he was feeling but still... weird and foreign and un-chartered. ...And addicting.

Shaking out of his thoughts, he started to straighten out the pile of textbooks scattered both on the table and across the floor. Moving on to the kitchen, he put the clean bowls and plates and utensils back in its proper place. Before long, Makoto came out of the bathroom, mild surprise blooming across his face that Haru was not only still awake but puttering around in his kitchen.  
Haru looks up, "please tell me you haven't just been eating instant ramen these last two weeks." His eyes couldn't hide the sheepishness, "all right, I won't." Haru sighs. The guy is going to die from too much MSG if this continues. He could see the epitaph now: ' _Here Lies Tachibana Makoto: He Who Consumed too Much MSG_.' He makes a note to make plenty of leftovers the next time he cooks. He chews on his lip, "I think I should've gone home. Not as tired as I thought."  
Makoto smiles gently at him, "well, it's too late now." He glances over at his open bedroom, "wanna watch something instead?"

Makoto turns toward his room, knowing Haru would follow. "It's been a while since I've been here."  
"You've been busy. With training and all."  
"So have you. With studying and all."  
"Well, that's all done," he frowns a little, "for four weeks anyways…"  
Makoto grabs his laptop and hands it to Haru after he'd crawled into the bed. Makoto proceeds to turn off the lights in the other room and to make sure the apartment door was locked before returning and sliding into bed with Haru. He scoots over to make room for him. Haru already has some nature documentary queued up. Makoto suspected that Haru isn't all that interested in nature in general but more on the subject matter at hand… what with the whales and dolphins and ocean-y things.

They sit with the laptop balanced precariously between them; their thighs flush against each other as it acted as a makeshift stand. After twenty minutes, Haru's eyes begins to droop and Makoto feels Haru nodding off. Gently, he closes the laptop and slides it onto the nightstand. "Haru, time to go to sleep, okay?" Haru murmurs lowly but Makoto heard him clearly. Makoto slips halfway off the bed and Haru slides down from the headboard.  
"I'll be on the couch if you need me."  
Growing more conscious but still groggy, Haru mumbles, "the couch is too small. You'd never fit."  
"I'll be fine-"  
"You're a giant. You'll be spilling over the edge… or knowing you, roll off."  
"I'm not a giant!" he huffs indignantly. He then grimaces at the blatant falseness of the outburst. "Well, I mean—"  
"I'll take the couch." He rolls onto his knees, fully prepared to leave the warm bed.  
"You're a guest, Haru! I can't make you take the couch!"  
"Then we'll share. It's big enough."  
Makoto seriously considers it but shakes his head to clear it, "no, I'll be on the couch." He straightens up, one knee still on the bed. He's ready to go when Haru tugs on the hem of his shirt. Turning back, he gasps at how close Haru had gotten.  
He's upright; on his knees and and their eyes were level. "Haru-chan?"  
"Lay off the -chan," he mutters impatiently.  
"Sorry, Har-"  
"Can I kiss you?" he interrupts.  
Makoto's eyes bulges out of his eyes, unsure if he had him heard correctly, "huh?"  
"You don't have to say yes. But I want to kiss you." Makoto gapes at his friend, bewilderment clearly on his face and clueless on how to respond.  
"So? Can I kiss you?"  
He quickly nods and breathes, "yes."

Haru quickly closes the gap, tugging on Makoto's collar. The kiss is brief. Too brief to be called a kiss but it was more than enough. For now. It was still warm and soft, like how he expected but he swears he felt a surge of electricity course through his veins. Which was unexpected. It made him hot and dizzy and he feels his head grow cloudy and his vision blurring. And despite its briefness, he swears he now knows what Makoto tastes like. He wants more and instantly realizes that he was right: Tachibana Makoto is addicting.

"What was that for?"  
Haru looks away as he usually did, "you completed your first semester," he mumbles quietly.  
Makoto smiles shyly, "will you do this when I complete my second semester?" he repeats the scene from earlier that night.  
Haru shrugs his left shoulder, "If I feel like it," he pauses and looks at Makoto's grinning face, "if you ask nicely," he pauses again, "if you want me to."  
Makoto's smile widens, "I definitely will."  
Haru, tugging at his hem again, looks at him expectantly, "stay?"  
Makoto's gentle eyes says everything he needs to say but says it aloud anyway, "I'll stay."

* * *

This is unusual. I tend to drag things out a bit but I jumped right into here. Not sure how I feel about that...


	2. Chapter 2

Haru hunches over the stove, making sure the mackerel was cooking evenly. Haru looks... comfortable. And happy. Which was the most important thing. Makoto leans against the door jam and watches his boyfriend best friend boyfriend best friend—they haven't really figured this part out just yet, fuss over their lunch.  
For the past two weeks since the night Haru kissed him, he's been around almost every day. Haru cooked. Makoto cleaned. Haru would tell him not to fuss over him. Makoto would continue to fuss over him. His clothes began to smell like Haru. Not that he was complaining, but Haru should probably go home and grab some stuff that would actually fit him. They also slept together; as in literally sleeping together not the other, euphemism-for-sex sleeping together.

There was a lot of making out though.  
 _A lot._  
Obscenely a lot. Every where he turned, he'd flush in remembrance.

He sighs silently. There had been so many changes. And not just in the past six months while in Tokyo. The entire year had been different and new and full of changes. Some exciting, some not so much. He went from being a carefree teenager to being a young adult. With young adult responsibilities. From the tiny town of Iwatobi to the big, bustling city of Tokyo. New school. New classmates. New friends. New routines. Courses he'd never taken before. Courses he didn't even know could be courses. So much of this was new.

But much remained the same too. Haru still eats too much mackerel. Haru still swims only free. Haru still spends way too much time in the bath, making him late. He still pulls Haru out of the tub. He still calls Haru "Haru-chan" and Haru predictably tells him to lay off the -chan. He still hides behind Haru during scary movies. He's still a disaster area in the kitchen. He still talks to Nagisa and Rei almost daily (although the last two weeks of the semester derailed that).

With the newness, came a year filled with firsts. First time living on his own. First time away from the place he called home his entire life; the place he _still_ calls home. First job. First fight. First kiss. First anything. First _everything_.

He's still fuzzy on the how and when of it all. Well, the more he thought about it, the less of a mystery it became. Haru's been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. Aside from his immediate family, _he_ is the most important person in his life. He's known him for more than half his life. And will always know him for more than half his life. And then some. Haru's always been front and center of his thoughts and concerns and worries. And when he wasn't, he's in the periphery. Haru means something to him. Haru means _everything_ to him. Large chucks of his life would have been meaningless without him; would be meaningless.  
So yeah, it makes sense. Logically anyway. It was all the other -allys that remained sort of fuzzy.

Haruka and Makoto. Makoto and Haruka. The two of them have always been a pair. A couple. A set. A packaged deal. One was never without the other. Not for every long, anyway.

But in another first this year, they were. Without the other. First when Rin whisked him off to Australia and now in Tokyo. Even though they live in the same city. Even though they live less than 20 minutes away. Not that anyone in Tokyo would understand the significance of a Makoto without a Haruka and a Haruka without a Makoto. And it happened more often than either one of them would have liked. Because of these changes. Because of Tokyo.

He's both grateful and resentful. Grateful for the experiences. Resentful for the _too_ many experiences. Grateful for being able to attend his university of choice. Resentful that his university of choice for making him devote so much of his free time to studying. Grateful for all the interesting people he's met. Resentful for all the creepers he's encountered. Grateful for all the sights and sounds that bring the city to life. Resentful for all the sights and sounds in the dead of the night. Grateful for being big enough and prestigious enough for Haru to be able to legitimately pursue his professional swim career here. Resentful for being _too_ big and _too_ prestigious that his training leaves him with limited free time for himself.

Mostly though, he _is_ grateful. _Very, very_ grateful. Grateful that Haru is _in Tokyo_. Grateful that there's still some semblance of the routine they had in Iwatobi. Grateful that the distance isn't as vast as it could have been. Grateful that their friendship hasn't changed much. Grateful that their relationship has changed _so_ much. Grateful for whatever was in or about Tokyo that caused Haru to kiss him two weeks ago.

That last one is especially major. Which makes him resentful all over again. Because if his first semester was any indication of how subsequent semesters will play out, he is not a fan. Not even a little. There's only a little over a week left of his break before the second semester begins. Before long, he will be buried with a mountain of course work. Coupled with Haru's training schedule, it was very likely that they will be seeing less and less of each other. He really isn't looking for a repeat of the first semester where they only saw each other sporadically; seemingly twice, _maybe_ three times a month. _A month_. Unacceptable.

Yeah, he definitely does not want a repeat of that. It was this train of thought that made him push himself from the wall and lean over the counter instead.

"Hey, Haru?" he looks pensively at his best friend/boyfriend.  
He wanted to groan in frustration because honestly, labels didn't mean anything. They were too small, too trivial. Their relationship transcends any and all classifications. He wanted to groan again. He doesn't mean to sound so… pretentious. But Haru and Makoto were simply Haru and Makoto. There wasn't really anything in the human language that could accurately and sufficiently describe them.  
"Lunch is almost ready."  
"That wasn't what I was going to ask."  
Haru finally tearing his eyes from the cooking mackerel, looks expectantly at Makoto. "How do you feel about moving in?" Haru doesn't even have the decency to look surprised by the question. "My lease is up next month," he shrugs nonchalantly, "your place is bigger anyway."  
"You're not even going to think about it?"  
"What is there to think about? I practically live here. ...Nowadays anyway."  
"What if you won't like living with me?"  
"Why wouldn't I?"  
"Maybe I leave my wet towels on the floor."  
"Do you?"  
"Well, no." He pauses, thinking, and proceeds, "but maybe I leave my dirty socks and shoes everywhere."  
"I know you don't, Makoto." He pauses and squints at him, "are you trying to dissuade me from moving in? You're the one that asked me in the first place."  
"I know but…"  
"I don't have much. I should be able to move in before the end of the week."  
Makoto smiles brightly at him, "are we really doing this?"  
"Do you not want to?"  
"Of course I want to! I just thought… maybe you'd want think about it."  
"I told you, there's nothing to think about. Those 20 weeks were beyond stupid. I'm not doing that again." Makoto laughs, incredibly pleased that Haru felt the same.

Haru looks over at the pan and tsks, "there goes lunch." He sighs and throws the ruined mackerel into the trash. "Sorry, Haru-chan."  
"Lay off the -chan."  
Haru looks at Makoto who was still looking sheepish at having distracted him from cooking when an idea struck. "You want to get some coffee?"  
"Are you asking me on a date?"  
"Yes," Haru replies, with no hesitance.  
Makoto's eyes widen, taken aback as he intended for it to be a joke. "O-okay."  
"Let's get dressed."  
"We're going right now, Haru-chan?"  
"It's lunch, isn't it? And lay off the -ch—" he cuts himself off before amending, "well, I suppose it's okay if it's you."  
Makoto's eyes grew wide and glistening, "Haru-chan—!"  
"Never mind, no -chan," he quickly cuts him off.  
"Aw, but Haru!"

* * *

I just really wanted them to have that coffee date, okay?


	3. Chapter 3

He flops onto the bed, exhaustion slowly claiming his limbs. "I'm exhausted."  
Makoto whips his head to look at the prone figure lying on the bed so fast, he nearly gave himself whiplash and glares, " _you're_ exhausted? What did you do that could have possibly made _you_ exhausted?"  
Haru props himself up on his elbows, "I carried a few boxes," he pouts.  
" _Two_! You carried two! And they were the two lightest boxes! _I_ did all the work!"  
"It's not my fault you have condor arms," he grumbles. He pauses before continuing, "also, you're taller. You can see over the boxes better."  
"I'm not that much taller than you, Haru."  
"Tall enough…"

Makoto drags his feet over and collapses next to Haru. "I thought you said you didn't have much."  
"I don't."  
He turns his head to gape at him, "we had to make ten trips, Haru!" The cruddy elevator had been on the fritz for the past week leaving them, (read: Makoto) to lug up all of Haru's boxes up seven ( _ **7!**_ ) flights of stairs.  
He shrugs indifferently, "guess you can accumulate a lot in six months." Makoto throws his arm over his eyes and sighs. "I just want to nap."

Feeling the bed dip and shift, he figured that it's probably Haru getting up to unpack. But his eyes fly open when he feels Haru straddling him, his hands scrabbling to hold onto his thighs. "Har—?" He's quickly silenced by Haru's lips and Makoto slides his hands from his thighs to bury his long fingers in Haru's dark hair. Their lips, teeth, and tongues sliding across and over the other; their gasps and moans filling the room. When they finally pull away, both their faces were plastered with obnoxiously dumb smiles. "What's this all about?"  
"I need a reason?"  
"Nope. Not at all."  
Haru quickly pecks his lips, "thank you for helping me move."

He knows he doesn't have to say it. Makoto knew. Just like how Makoto always seems to know what he's feeling or what he's thinking. But they're not _actually_ psychic. Despite what everyone seems to think. He knows that some things _need_ to be verbalized. He knows that there are some things _too important_ to be left to slight twitches of the lips or a small raise of an eyebrow. So while thanking him for helping him move was something trivial, it served as good practice for all the things he wants to verbalize to Makoto later. Whenever that'll be…

"I'd always help." Haru knows that too. "I'm thanking you anyway."  
"I definitely wouldn't complain if this is how you thank people." His smile quickly turns to a frown. "No. Wait. I didn't mean that! I mean, how you thank _me_. Me. N-not people. I don't want you to thank other people like that. Just me." His arms waves frantically. Haru catches his flailing limbs and brings his lips to his wrists, "Makoto. Slow down. I got it. I wouldn't be running around kissing people I don't like."  
He breathes a sigh of relief, "Good then." His brows knits in thought, "wait… does that mean I have to worry about you kissing Rin? Or Rei? Or Nagisa?" Haru, the butthead, had the audacity to smirk, "no comment."  
"Haru! That's not funny!"  
He rolls his eyes and grabs his face to kiss him thoroughly, stroking his tongue and humming happily. "Idiot. Like I'd want to kiss anyone else but you." Makoto's dumb grin confirms what he already knows, "just making sure."

Haru tucks his head under Makoto's chin, nuzzling his chest and purring as a cat would after being rubbed at the base of their ears. Makoto absentmindedly strokes Haru's back; following the curvature of his spine. "Makoto? What did your mom say when you told her about me moving in?"  
Haru shakes from Makoto's deep chuckle, "she sort of just… laughed. Actually, she laughed _a lot_. She didn't understand why we _weren't_ living together to begin with. And Dad said that they were under the impression that we've been dating since high school. _High school_!" He laughs this time, loud and boisterous that shakes both their bodies. Haru quickly decides that he likes it. "Are we that oblivious?"  
Haru turns his head so his chin was resting on Makoto's chest. He looks thoughtful. "It's not that we were oblivious… we just hadn't arrived to the same conclusion as everyone else until now. Sometimes, the most obvious things are the hardest things to see. Because you're too close to it, you know?"  
Makoto's heart pounds in his chest as a smile overtakes his face at Haru's words. "So… oblivious?"  
"Yeah." He concedes. "Also, we're idiots with low emotional IQs."  
"Well, as long as we're self aware. And bonus: we can be idiots together." He runs his hand through Haru's hair. "So your parents are okay with us?" Haru asks.  
Makoto returns to stroking his back; an unconscious gesture of reassurance, "my parents love and adore you. They're happy for us. They're happy and proud of us. But also worried. They know this isn't going to be easy. _I_ know this isn't going to be easy. But like dad said: 'nothing worthwhile is ever easy.'"  
"Told you so."  
"Yeah, yeah. I mean… I knew they were going to be supportive but… it still isn't something that's easy to talk about with your parents, you know?" Haru hums in what sounded like agreement. "So what did your parents say?"  
He shrugs, "mom _sounded_ scandalized. She was just teasing me though. Dad, as you can imagine, was wagging his finger while lecturing me about something along the lines of 'no funny business.' I told him it was too late. Someone fainted." Makoto pushes himself onto his elbows, eyes wide and in a panic, "who did what now?" Haru's lips twitch, snickering in amusement, "I'm kidding. No one fainted. They thought it was funny. I'm pretty sure they expected it too. My parents love you and your family." He snorts lightly, "as they should considering they flittered off and left your parents to basically raise me the last few years."  
Haru sounded indifferent as he usually does but Makoto being Makoto, heard a twinge of resentment. "Haru… your parents do love you."  
He huffs noisily, "I know that." He pushes himself up, perched atop Makoto, "I mean, I enjoyed living by myself. For the most part. Teenager and all that. It still would have been nice to be able to see them once in a while." He perks up a little, "it's better now. We can actually see each other. Perks of living in the same city."

He chuckles at Haru's enthusiasm, even if it was subdued, "I guess emotional maturity comes with growing up, eh?"  
"Yeah."  
"We've had to grow up pretty quick this year, haven't we?"  
"Yeah."  
"Especially you, Haru."  
"Don't single me out."  
"But it's true! And it's not just this past year though. You've started swimming again, you've found a future you want to pursue, you've even made new friends!"  
"They're my _teammates_. Not my friends."  
"You've gone out to dinner with them, Haru. On _multiple_ occasions. They're your friends." He grunts in way that sounded both like an agreement and a disagreement. Makoto laces his fingers with Haru's. "And then there's us. This." Haru goes back to nuzzling Makoto's chest. "Do you think there would be an 'us' had we stayed in Iwatobi?"  
Haru doesn't even hesitate, "yes. Eventually. There's no way we're that oblivious."  
He raises his head to look at Makoto's dumb grinning face and rolls his eyes.

"Hey, Haru?"  
"Hm?"  
"Why… why did you kiss me that night?" Makoto had been wanting to ask that question since that night.

 _Shit_. This was it. All the things he needs to tell him. But he isn't ready. There are still things that he's trying to work out himself. He bites his lip worriedly and tries to collect his thoughts but fails. He pushes himself up and after a few false starts, he sighs and finally begins slowly and quietly. "You'd think being an island nation, everything wouldn't be so big. But it is. And Tokyo… this city is just _so_ big. There's _so_ many people… _so_ many things to do and it's _too_ busy and noisy and it's too... _everything_ and it was okay for a bit because it was new and shiny but then it became overwhelming and I didn't care for it because it wasn't... _Me_. And there was no _you_. And I just wanted you. Not seeing you everyday _sucked_. Not being able to talk to you about stupid stuff _sucked_. Not swimming with you _sucked_. And it still sucks." He looks away and continues, "all the time we spent apart sucked. And it made me realize how much I take your presence for granted. I just... _expected_ you to be there. And then you said you were going to Tokyo and it felt like everything was falling apart. And I didn't know what I wanted and I was just so... _lost_. And it felt like everyone was leaving. With Rin. With my parents. _You_. And you've been there for me for so long and all of a sudden you weren't. And it _hurt_. And I _don't_ want to take your presence for granted anymore. Because you deserve more than that. And it's just so stupid how all these things just kept piling up and I hated it and it annoyed me and I missed it and I missed _you_ and I didn't understand it at all and then all of a sudden, everything made sense." He finally lifts his eyes, forcing himself to look at Makoto for this, "and _you_ made sense." He clutches, actually _clawing,_ at his chest nervously, "am I making sense?"

He didn't know what to expect from Haru but what he got _hurt_. But it also filled him with such warmth that spread from his chest to the very tips of his fingers. If it were anyone else but Makoto, it would have sounded nothing but a series of fragmented rambling sentences but he understands. He understands the sentiments behind all the rambling. Because a lot of things in his life didn't make much sense since coming to Tokyo. Except Haru. Haru has been a constant in his life since they were... well, it's been so long that he can no longer remember. At first, he thought it was simply a matter of comfort or convenience. And that notion bothered him. Haru is so much more than that. But he's in a big city where everything's new and overwhelming and Haru stayed within his comfort zone. For the most part. He didn't have to worry about Haru too much because Haru was Haru and whatever may happen, _at his core_ , Haru was _always_ going to be Haru:  
The same person he's known since he was a boy.  
The same person that took him by the hand and helped him chase away his fears.  
The same person who can put him at ease and make him feel like himself again just by merely looking at his face.  
The same person who, contrary to appearances, cares deeply and immensely about his friends.  
The same person who despite knowing for so long, can still find ways to surprise him.  
And he has known him for so long and had gotten so used to having him around that he thought maybe he was projecting his feelings over missing his friend into something more… intimate. But he's met a lot of people this semester and made some friends. Some rather attractive, charming, funny, kind people. And yet none of them could make him smile the way Haru could over something as insignificant as a picture text proving that yes, he does eat something besides mackerel but only because he's forced to. None of them make him feel… tingly. When he finally figured out _why_ his feelings for his best friend was making him feel all twisty inside, he suspected that he has _always_ felt this way about Haru. He was just too dense to see what was in front of his big dumb face this entire time. Like a dumbass. He agonized over his feelings for what felt like an eternity but in reality was a mere week before Haru showed him that he had suffered needlessly.

Grasping the back of his head, he draws him down for gentle kiss. "it makes perfect sense to me," he whispers against his lips.  
Haru exhales in relief, "good. It made sense in my head but then all these words started coming out of my mouth and I wasn't sure if it made sense. Because _I_ know what I mean and most of the time, _you_ know what I mean but sometimes, _I_ don't even know what I mean and I jus—" Makoto, while he loves the sound of Haru's voice because it's such a rare treat for him to say so much in one sitting, cuts off his rambling, pulling him into another kiss and crashing their lips together.

"I'd never leave you, Haru. _Never_." Makoto assures him frantically. And Haru surges against him; their tongues sliding over and under the other, curling behind teeth, and brushing against gums. Their arms and legs becoming an entangled mess, the comforter and sheets in disarray. They kissed until they were breathless and then kissed some more. Hands and eager fingers sliding under their clothes to touch heated skin and when Haru's hands drifts to Makoto's waistband, they freeze. Both breathing heavily; pupils dilating with lust, faces flushing with excitement, and cocks hard with arousal.  
"I'm not ready for sex," Makoto blurts. Realizing what he said, his face turns even redder that Haru thought he was going to pass out. It was surprisingly blunt of Makoto. "I'm not ready for sex either," he replies truthfully. "But I'm ready for all the rest. If you are." At this point, Makoto's sure his face is literally on fire. "I'd like that."

"Pants off, boxers on?"  
Makoto buries his face in Haru's shoulder in embarrassment, "how can you just ask something like that?"  
"These are important questions to ask, Makoto. I want us both to be comfortable. I don't want to do something either of us don't want to. So forget about your embarrassment because this is _us_ and it needs to be right."  
Makoto smiles warmly at him. Despite his earlier doubts over his words, Haru does have a way of expressing himself perfectly. "I know. You're right." Haru nods unequivocally at being told that he was right. "It doesn't make it any less embarrassing. Alright…pants off, boxers on," he agrees confidently and clearly. Even as he feels the burning heat return to his face as well as the rest of his body in both embarrassment and anticipation.

Haru makes a noise that sounded like a cross between a scoff and a chuckle, "you're ridiculous."  
"Shut up. _You're_ ridiculous."  
"I don't know why you're so embarrassed. Sex is part of the human experience. Humans are generally contact creatures that crave affection so naturally, we have sex. I mean, there's also the reproductive function of sex but that doesn't exactly apply to us, does it?" Makoto raises an amused eyebrow, "you're starting to sound like Rei." He shrugs, "I call him for homework help. He'd often go on those weird tangents that he usually goes on." He looks at Makoto out of the corner of his eye, "I know you call him for help too."  
Makoto sighs heavily, "are we sad? Asking an underclassmen for homework help? Asking an underclassman that's still in _high school_ for _college level_ homework help?" He shrugs again, "doesn't really bother me. Rei's kind of a genius. One of those eccentric kinds… He worries me sometimes. I'm positive he's got a bunch of complex and convoluted plots to take over the world. Galaxy. Universe. He's even got the laugh down pat." Haru's eyes glazes over in something similar to what Makoto knows as excitement. Makoto stares at him in alarm, "and now I'm worried about you…"  
"I have no plans for world domination. Just plans for Makoto domination." His face is still one of indifference but Makoto notices the glint in his eyes that makes him shiver.

Makoto's eyes widens so much so that Haru thought they were going to fall out of his skull. His face and ears burned into another delicious shade of red. "You're embarrassed again. You're so red." Makoto snaps out of his stupor, "you're one to talk! You're red yourself!"  
"Am not."  
"You want me to get you a mirror?"  
"S-shut up." He glares at stupid Makoto with his stupid smug smile and wants to kiss his stupid smug face. So he does. "Pants. Off now," he whispers against his lips. They scramble to get their clothes off; Haru nearly toppling off the bed when Makoto abruptly sits up. Haru glances over and does his best not to laugh as Makoto struggled to pull his red flannel over his head; his limbs waving wildly in his attempt to dislodge his arms from the rolled up sleeves and his head from the collar. Makoto suddenly stops flailing, turns to where he thought Haru was and huffs, "you're laughing at me, aren't you," his voice muffled and exasperated. Haru tries to keep his voice steady but fails as it cracks, "n-no." Makoto glares at him and drops his arms. At least, he's pretty sure he's glaring at him. It's hard to be certain when his face is trapped by the red flannel.  
"So you're just going to sit there and not help? You jumped me, remember? You're the one that wanted sex," Haru's sure that he's now pouting. Glaring and pouting.  
"I'm not the only one that wanted it. And it's not sex, remember? We're just gonna rub up against each other until we come," he smirks proudly at himself for being able to say it so matter-of-factly without cracking.

Makoto groans and flops onto his back, his embarrassment furiously returning. He is convinced Haru is doing this on purpose. He just knows it. He wants to see if it's possible for someone (namely him) to die from embarrassment and how much embarrassment he could endure before succumbing to death's embrace. And at this rate, it'll be relatively soon.  
Makoto feels him shift around the bed before Haru is gently tugging the sleeve past his forearm. With one arm finally free, Makoto tugs on his collar until the button pops free. Haru pulls the rest of his shirt off and tosses it behind him. "That's what you get for having giant ass forearms."  
"Oh, shut up, you."

Haru splays his hands on Makoto's now heaving chest; stroking him from his broad shoulders to his defined abdomen. Leaning over, he kisses him again; this time slow and languid, relishing in the feel of his lips and the taste of his mouth. He pulls back slightly and smiles when Makoto lifts his head to try to recapture his lips. He nips at his chin, up his jaw line and stopping at the shell of his ear. "Your pants are still on," he admonishes lightly. Makoto swallows hard, his Adam's apple bobbing roughly, "so are yours," he counters.  
"Hm," he murmurs. He had gotten his jeans halfway undone but became distracted when Makoto became ensnared by his shirt. "So they are." He cups the bulge that's straining against the stiff denim of Makoto's jeans and squeezes him gently eliciting a harsh gasp of air from him. "We should fix that," his hands drifts to the button, "don't you think?" he yanks the button free and the fly unzips halfway from the pressure of his erection. Haru pulls the rest down and snakes his hand in, palming his cock eagerly. Makoto releases a shaky breath he doesn't even know he was holding, " _fuck_ ," he groans.

Haru freezes and pulls up to look at him. "Makoto. You just cursed." Makoto never cursed. Having two young siblings, it was ingrained in him not to. "No, I didn't." Haru narrows his eyes, "yes, you did." Is Makoto seriously going to deny he said 'fuck?' Or did he really not realize that he had actually said it? Haru resumes his touch, gently pressing the heel of his hand at the base of Makoto's cock. "Fuck," he breathes again and his eyes fly open.  
"Shit," he curses in realization.  
" _Shit_!" he curses _again_ in realization.  
Haru, now genuinely amused, looks the part. He grins in a way he never had before; in a way that he didn't think his facial muscles could allow, his eyes sparkling in delight before remarking, "I didn't even think you knew those words."  
Makoto snort-chuckles, "I have Rin as a friend. Of course I know them."  
"I like it," Haru decides after a beat.  
"You like me cursing?" Makoto's brows furrows in disapproval. But Haru shakes his head, "not the cursing. The general lack of inhibition that caused the cursing."  
He laughs a little breathlessly, "when you touch me like that, it's kind of difficult to hold onto your inhibitions." Haru hums, clearly pleased with the response.

"Okay, seriously, these jeans need to go." He pushes himself up and off the bed and grabs the bottom of his jeans and tugs impatiently. "H-Haru!" Makoto's hands fly to the waistband of his boxer briefs, "you're going to take my underwear with you if you keep pulling like that!"  
Haru looks at him teasingly, "you say that like it's a problem." Makoto side eyes him, "you know, you talk an awful lot during sex."  
"Not—"  
"Sex. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean. It's sex _adjacent_. It counts. I don't think I've ever had this long of a conversation with you."  
"That's a lie and you know it." He goes back to tugging at his jeans, his boxer briefs slipping past his hip bones even as Makoto was clutching onto it. Finally able to discard the offending garment, Haru stares. He couldn't do anything but stare. Makoto's breathing heavily and unevenly; his chest heaving. His eyes glassy and limbs trembling. His cock head glistening and poking out of the slit of his briefs. His tanned skin standing in sharp contrast to the white sheets he lies on. Why does he have white sheets anyway? It'll get so dirty. _**So, so incredibly dirty**_.

His musings are interrupted by the movements of Makoto scooting to the end of the bed where Haru stood. Sitting in front of him, he tugs at the waistband of his jeans, patiently pushing it past his hips without disturbing his boxers; the complete opposite of how Haru had done this to him. Makoto murmurs so quietly that Haru wasn't sure if it was meant for him even though it clearly was. "Hm. You're actually wearing underwear today." Haru pushes his shoulder lightly, "of course I am. I knew I wasn't going swimming today." He says it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. As if he _doesn't_ think _everyday_ is a swimming day.

Makoto leans forward and continues to push his jeans down his legs; past his knees. He nuzzles his stomach, placing gentle kisses and nips along the outlines of his abdominal muscles and dips his tongue in the valleys of his torso. And as Haru's breath hitches at the warm lips against his heated and sensitive skin, Makoto smiles into his skin at the reaction. After over a decade of friendship, he didn't think there would be anything new to learn about Haru but he's so, so wrong. He can't help but enjoy the fact that he gets to learn something new about him everyday. Like how he scratches Makoto's scalp at having his lip bitten. Or how he moans when he licks his clavicle. Or the involuntary thrust of the hips when he brushes his hands over his ribs. He silently vows to learn every last thing about him.

With his jeans finally bunched at his ankles, he consciously toes them off carefully. Forcing himself to do so when all he really wants is to kick them off in his haste. But he doesn't want to disrupt the deliberate and teasing pace Makoto set.

Makoto looks up at Haru, his chin resting on his abdomen and Haru felt all the breath leave his body. If it hadn't been for Makoto holding him up, he would have crumbled to the floor. The intensity and adoration Makoto's looking at him with was overwhelming. He really was oblivious. How in the world did he miss this? How could _anyone_ miss this? It was a fucking anvil. Giant flashing neon signs. And yet, some how, they _both_ managed to miss it. For so long. Makoto has _always_ looked at him like this. He just never actually stopped to think about what it meant.

Until Tokyo. Until he started to miss it. Until he started to look forward to catching him looking at him this way. He wonders if he looks at Makoto the way Makoto looks at him. If his adoration is just as intense. He desperately wishes he does. And that it is. He briefly worries that he doesn't overwhelm him the way Makoto does to him and he nearly panics because Makoto deserves to be overwhelmed with all the love and adoration possible. But the worry quickly flitters away when he sees him smile. And he knew that he did; that he does.

Makoto shuffles back on the the bed, drawing Haru next to him. They sigh contently into their kiss. The hustle and bustle of the city outside the window drowned out by the sighs, moans, gasps, and murmurs within. The sun still high on the horizon, warming their already heated flesh. They take their time; Haru's impatience losing its fire. Their fingers roam freely over the canvas of their skin, lingering whenever a gasp or moan spill from their throats. Makoto's hips jerk roughly into Haru when his nail lightly scratch at his nipple. Haru groans at the contact, suddenly wishing this is a 'pants off, boxers off' session instead.

Wanting that contact again, he throws his leg over Makoto, curling his calves around his hips and thrusting his swollen member against Makoto's own. Makoto hisses in pleasure as his hands grasp at Haru's hips; fingers digging into his flesh so hard that he's sure it'll leave marks. He drags his hand to Haru's firm ass; squeezing and pulling his lower body further into him. Their insistence grew. Kisses and touches no longer gentle but firm and demanding. Their erections rubbing against each other urgently. Haru catches Makoto's bottom lip between his teeth and tugs at it earning a whimper from Makoto.

Haru suddenly finds himself on his back with Makoto looming over him, his half lidded eyes wild with lust. With his leg still curled around him, he jerks him down until their pelvises were grinding against each other. They rock against the other, sliding over the other. Their cocks dripping and sensitive and close.  
 _So_.  
 _Fucking_.  
 _Close_.  
Makoto rolls his hips, slowly dragging the length of his erection over Haru's before doing it again.  
And again.  
 _And again_.  
Each time faster than the last. "Fuck," Haru struggling for breath, "Makoto. Fuck, Makoto." Seemingly unable to actually voice anything else, Haru keeps chanting his name.  
"Haru… So close... Haru… I'm gonna come. _Fuck_. Need you… to… Want… _Fuck_ ," Makoto babbles as Haru's hips eagerly bucks against his own.  
"I'm…" his throat grew dry and voice raspy, "I'm— _MAKOTO_!" His body spasms and jerks as he comes, the hot spunk soaking through his briefs as well as Makoto's. The warmth combined with Haru's shout of his name triggers Makoto's own orgasm as Haru's name rips from his throat.

Makoto, resting his forehead on Haru's shoulder, sighs happily as Haru continues to lazily roll his hips; riding out their orgasm. The pair taking large gulps of air into their burning lungs. Their lungs had never burned like this even after race or a particular grueling training session. Makoto rolls onto his back, not wanting to smother Haru. He takes another shuddering breath before turning his head to find that Haru already gazing at him with a small smile. "We have to do that again. Pants off, boxers off," he suggests without an ounce of embarrassment.  
"I was thinking the same thing," Haru breathes.

Haru grimaces at the feel of the rapidly cooling spunk clinging to his skin as well as the insides of his boxers. Makoto gingerly pushes the uncomfortable, soggy material past his hips, lazily wriggling it down his legs and flicking it halfway across the room where it lands with a wet splat. He groans. The flat is an absolute mess. Haru grunts, having already peeled his own soaked underwear. "I can't move. I'm just… going to lie here." Makoto cranes his neck and reaches over Haru for the box of tissues on the night stand. They clean up the best they could until they muster enough energy to get to the shower. "Shower and unpack later." Haru snuggles against his side. "Later. Nap now," he agrees.

* * *

And oh my goodness. This is such a long wall of text. There were so many points at which I was sure it was the end of the chapter. But then my brain would go off on these tangents and wouldn't let go and it snowballed and snowballed and snowballed until I got this. And now there are just so many words. All these words and they don't even properly shag! What a rip off. If I were you, I'd ask for my money back.


	4. Chapter 4

I like using italics. Like excessively. Whether it's hitting certain words or (mostly) Haru's and Makoto's inner thoughts.

* * *

He groans in frustration as he bangs his head with a solid, single _thump_ against the hard wood grain of the dining table. "It's only the first day. Why is this so difficult," he uncharacteristically whines. Makoto stops behind him, leans over, and peeks at his textbook. He knits his brows in confusion, "Haru...why are you taking physics?" Haru's head lolls to the side, Makoto's _ridiculously_ muscular forearm ( _were his forearms like that in high school_?) obstructing his field of vision, "it's the only class that fits my schedule," he mumbles quietly.  
Makoto's brow shoots up incredulously, "the _only_ class? Haru, your university is huge! And you're telling me that _physics_ is the only class that's available at," he peers at Haru's class schedule that was off to the side, "9am on Tuesday mornings?"  
"...it may have been the first class I saw in the schedule," he murmurs even quieter this time, already wincing that the admonishment that he knows is waiting for him.  
"That isn't how you're supposed to enroll in classes!" Haru finally lifts his head to look at him, "I'm on a scholarship. I need to be a full time student!"  
"That doesn't mean you have to take _physics_!"

 _Ugh_.

He's right. Haru knows he's right. But it was just so... _troublesome_ to go through the course schedule for something that interests him. Or something that _wasn't_ physics. It really was the first thing he saw. Literally. He flipped open the schedule and boom.

Physics.  
9am.  
Tuesdays.  
Perfect. ...Or so he thought.

"Drop the class," Makoto advises.  
"It's too late."  
"It's day one, Haru! You're just being lazy. Drop physics. Find a class you'd actually enjoy and enroll. It's easy."  
"It's too much work."  
"And taking a class you're having problems with after just one day _isn't_ too much work?"  
He bangs his head on the table again, "fine! I'll take an art history class. Or nutrition. Whatever." He looks up at Makoto, "happy?"

Makoto grins smugly and pulls out a chair to sit next to him, "speaking of first days... guess who's in my Intro to Sports Medicine class?" Haru looks at him blankly, _I don't know nearly enough people to play this 'guess who' game with you_. Makoto nods in understanding, "Sou-chan!"  
Haru arches an eyebrow, "I don't suggest you calling him that to his face. Only Nagisa gets away with calling him that. Just barely. He may punch you in the face. And I like your face." Makoto grins stupidly at him. He continues, "I didn't know he went to your school."  
"He just started. He took some time off to recuperate but he seems pretty excited to get started."

Haru hums and briefly wonders if Rin is aware of Yamazaki's plans. Annoyed at his train of thought, he rolls his eyes at himself. Why does he even care what Rin is or isn't aware of? He glances at Makoto. He's still rambling.  
"-nice to see a familiar face around campus, you know? Maybe we can grab some dinner together. Or we could invite him over."  
"Do we have to?"  
" _Haru_." Haru huffs audibly. He hates it when Makoto uses that tone with him. With his face looking all stern-like. It made him feel like a child being scolded by his parents. Except, not even his parents had done that to him.  
"I thought you two worked out your differences."  
"Doesn't mean I want to voluntarily hang out with him."  
" _Haru_." He huffs again and purses his lips, "do what you want."

Haru nearly yelps as he almost falls out of his seat when his chair suddenly and forcefully swings out, coming face to face with Makoto. "What the hell, Makoto?"  
"You said to do what I want," he murmurs, his eyes darting to Haru's lips. All other reprimands promptly died in Haru's throat under Makoto's scrutiny. He licks at his suddenly dry lips, "that's not what I meant."  
Makoto shrugs and curls his long fingers around the collar of Haru's shirt, pulling him forward and easily meeting his lips. Makoto nips at Haru's lower lip and then flicks his tongue to soothe whatever dull ache he had caused.

Makoto gently parts Haru's legs as Haru slides into his seat until his back hit the wooden backing of his chair. Without breaking the kiss, Makoto climbs onto Haru's chair, seating himself into the space left by Haru's parted thighs. His own legs draping over Haru's as he sits at his full height, cradling Haru's face between his obscenely large hands. Haru straightens himself against his seat but still has to crane his neck to reach Makoto's lips.

"You're too tall," he mutters.  
Makoto dips down, curving his spine, "sorry."  
"Still think you're not that much taller than me?"  
"I'm not," he stubbornly refutes. After a beat, he purses his lips and asks, "I'm not _too_ tall, am I?"  
Haru sighs. Makoto could be so weird sometimes. Don't people usually _want_ to be tall? Something, something tall, dark, and handsome. Or some such nonsense. And Makoto had _all_ that in spades. And it's not like he's so freakishly tall that he could be a starting center of an NBA team anytime soon. He could barely be a point guard.  
Weirdo.

"Of course not. I'm just short."  
"No you're not," he insists, scandalized by the comment. "You're perfect. You're Haruka-sized," he beams proudly.  
"And you're Makoto-sized. So stop being so offended. It's a matter of fact. You take after your dad."  
"I'm not weird."  
"I didn't say you were."  
He didn't, right? He definitely _thought_ it but he didn't actually _say_ it. ...Right?  
"You were thinking it though."

 _Dammit_.

He shrugs, "I'm weird too. It's not too bad."  
"You're not weird. You're just... Haru."  
"I feel like we're going around in circles. Stop using my name as an adjective. It's not an adjective."  
"You used my name as an adjective."  
"Only because you did!"  
"Because there isn't an adjective I can use to describe you except 'Haru!'"

Haru groans in frustration and head-butts Makoto in the chest. They really are going in circles.  
Makoto is still going on about it when he thinks, _fuck it_. He bites Makoto in the chest.  
 _Hard_.  
 _Sinks_ his teeth into Makoto's clothed flesh.

Makoto yelps, nearly jumping out of his seat. His eyes were wide as he rubs at the rapidly bruising teeth marks that are sure to stay for at least the rest of the week.  
" _What the hell, Haru?!"_  
He rolls his eyes at Makoto's shock. "Just shut up and kiss me, idiot."  
"That was very rude, Haru! I'm going to bruise! You shouldn't bite people all willy-nilly!"  
"Why are you still talking?" Aggravation lacing his voice. He threads his fingers into his hair and yanks him down, his lips ghosting against Makoto's, "stop talking." He flicks his tongue at his lips and Makoto moans and his mouth opens for him easily.

Haru hums and eagerly slides his tongue into the warm, wet, welcoming cavern of Makoto's mouth. He drops his hands to teasingly ghost over the tops of his thighs. Makoto shivers at the touch and claws at Haru's shirt. "Take off your clothes," he rumbles. Haru swings his arms over his head, intent to yanking his shirt off but at the sudden movement, Makoto nearly falls off. Instinctively, Haru's arms shoots out to clutch at Makoto's forearm to keep him from landing on his ass. Their hearts hammering in their already racing chests in the wake of the close call. Makoto slides off Haru and onto his feet. He rakes his hand through his hair and exhales shakily.

"Makoto?"  
"I'm okay. Just... need to catch my breath is all." Haru taps his fingers against his leg and after a moment of silence, he quips, "you still want me to take my clothes off?"  
He cackles. Haru's bluntness always had a knack for diffusing various situations. He nods _yes_. Haru shoots up off his seat and pulls his shirt over his head in time to hear Makoto grumbling loudly.  
"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!" Makoto's struggling, tangled within his shirt.  
 _Again_.  
When he finally gets it off, he crumples it up and throws it on the floor in frustration and growls in irritation. Haru folded his arms across his chest, "you're a grown human being, Makoto. How do you not know how to undress yourself?"  
"It's not me!"  
"Oh. Okay. So cotton has declared war on you, is that is? Is cotton your arch nemesis now?"

Makoto glares at his ribbing. His arm extends out to hook his fingers at Haru's waistband and pulls him flush against his chest. "It's not very nice to make fun of your boyfriend."  
They still hadn't settled on what they are. But for all intents and purposes, to the outside world, that's what they are.  
Haru snorts at the title, "wasn't trying to be nice." Makoto rubs his nose at the shell of Haru's ear as he flicks his tongue at his earlobe, "Ha-ru-chan," he drawls roughly.  
 _Dirty pool_.  
Makoto then catches the flesh between his teeth and tugs.  
 _ **Dirty fucking pool**_.  
They discovered Haru's ear sensitivity a few days ago when Makoto scraped his teeth along his ear and Haru got all jelly legged and melty.  
And now he's exploiting it. The nerve. Makoto always did have a manipulative streak in him. But instead of getting weak kneed, he shoves his face away from him, "lay off the -chan."

Makoto just laughs, his head jerking only slightly as Haru's shove had no real power behind it. He curls his arm around Haru's waist and easily lifts him up onto the table. Makoto pulls back and grins. They were now eye to eye. Haru couldn't stop the sharp intake of air at the sight. They were still kids the last time they were able to look directly at each other's eyes; until Makoto's out of control growth spurt. With way his eyes are currently dilated, there isn't much green left but they're still the same eyes he remembers from their childhood; swirling shades of green with gold specks. Haru briefly wonders if there could possibly be a better color combination than that but quickly dismisses it because there couldn't be. ...Not that he's exactly objective, he concedes.

"Your eyes are stunning," Makoto murmurs quietly. Haru pouts slightly, "no fair. I was going to say that." Makoto averts his eyes, bashful at the compliment before softly pressing his lips against Haru's. His fingertips trails teasingly along the waistband of Haru's sweatpants before dipping his fingers underneath the soft cotton. Haru lifts his hips as a silent invitation for Makoto to finish undressing him. Pushing his sweatpants over his hips, they both sigh; Haru in relief and Makoto in resignation.

"Didn't you already have your bath, Haru?"  
"Of course."  
Makoto tugs the sweatpants so it bunches around Haru's thighs, "so why are you still wearing your jammers?"  
Haru shrugs and kicks his sweats off, "I ran out of underwear." _Duh_.  
Makoto sighs, again, in resignation. "That's it. We're going shopping this weekend." Haru's eyes lights up excitedly but was promptly extinguished, "for underwear. Not jammers."  
"Pass."  
"Haru... Do you realize that you own more pairs of jammers than you do underwear? I know because I've done your laundry. And even though you're swimmer, that shouldn't happen."  
" _Hard_ pass."  
"You know I'll just drag you, Haru. You ought to give up now."  
"Never."

Makoto dips his fingers under his jammers and strokes his skin, "yes," he says firmly. Haru bats his hands away, "stop cheating." This, too, was a new discovery; the gentle yet rough scratching from his slightly calloused fingers against the skin of his jutting hipbone. Makoto leans forward to lick at his collarbone and trailing up to his neck and then his ear, "you know how hard these things are to take off... _So tight_ ," he nips at his neck, "wouldn't you want to get naked faster?" he questions, flicking his ear, "...easier?" he draws the soft, dangling flesh into his mouth.

 _Who are you?_ Haru's shock and confusion must be evident on his face _._ "What, you can say things like that but I can't? _"_ He fingers the seam of his jammers, pressing lightly and dragging his fingertip to follow the seam that conveniently ran the length of his now rapidly hardening cock.

 _God... This is just... So **unfair**. Manipulative ...bastard._

Haru knows he's caving. But he isn't going to do so until he gets something out of it too. "Treat me to spicy miso mackerel ramen and I'll buy how ever many pairs you want." Makoto's chuckle rumbles deeply in his chest, knowing that the proposed compromise was perfunctory at best, "I'll treat you to two bowls." Haru parts his legs and draws Makoto between them, "deal."

Their noses bump and nudge against each other as their tongues entwine. Haru's over eager hands clawing and caressing at Makoto's chest, back, and anything else he could reach. He groans as the spandex of his jammers stretches uncomfortably, almost painfully tight against him. Makoto slides his hand underneath the fabric, stretching it even more, making Haru grunt. He shifts to one side, allowing Makoto to push the tight material over his ass and then shifts to the other to do the same. He steps back from between his legs and grips the elastic tightly and tugs. Roughly; wrestling with the slippery fabric. Finally, Haru's cock springs free from its confines and slaps wetly against his stomach. Makoto flings the spandex cross the room where it hits the umbrella rack, knocking the contents to the floor.

"That seemed unnecessary," Haru mutters. Makoto points to where his jammers landed and retorts, " _that_ seemed unncessary." Haru slides off the table and pulls at his soft pajama bottoms, loosening the drawstrings and pushing it past his hips until the loose material easily fell to his ankles. He kicked them away after stepping out of them and then Haru launches at him. He rose to his toes to kiss him quickly, not even deepening the kiss before suckling at his jugular. And then his collarbone. And then his chest. His dick rubbing insistently against Makoto's thigh, the somewhat rough fabric of his boxer briefs offering just a smidge of relief but not nearly enough. Haru's questing hand slips inside the slit of his boxers and he curls his fingers around him, jerking his semi-hard cock until he was fully erect. Haru bites down on the junction where his neck and shoulder met, reveling at the feel of Makoto's cock hardening in his hands. Makoto's body quakes, gasping at how hot and intense Haru's touch is against his over sensitive flesh.

He pulls his hand out and Makoto whimpers at the loss. But he was quickly divested of his boxer briefs and Haru's warm hand is back on him. He sighs and was led backward until his calves hit one of the chairs. Pushing him gently, Haru guides him into the seat and clamors into his inviting lap. Makoto licks at Haru's red, swollen lips, "see how fast I got out of those?" Haru rolls his eyes considerably, "I already said I'd go and get some. What else do you want from me?"

Makoto licks his teeth deviously- and who would have thought that a face as kind and as gentle as Makoto's could twist into something _devious_? "Want to feel your cock on mine."

 _Fuck_. Haru chokes, nearly swallowing his tongue. _Jesus fucking Christ_. Just last week, Makoto couldn't even say 'sex' without turning into a tomato. And now he's waxing poetic over the efficiency of getting naked and saying things like 'I want to feel your cock on mine?' Did Nagisa slip something into his morning tea? He knew it wasn't possible considering Nagisa was still in Iwatobi but... it's Nagisa. You couldn't really put anything past the chipper blonde.

He shakes out of his shock quickly when Makoto wraps his _**obscenely**_ large hand around his hardened member and strokes him slowly; teasingly. Haru moans hoarsely and paws at his cock, shifting further into his lap until the head of their cocks finally, _**finally**_ touch. Their bodies shudders in pleasure and Makoto pulls his hand away, wanting to feel the hot, throbbing appendage against his own and Haru does the same. They thrust against the other; rocking and rutting languidly and then rapidly and back; their damp curls scratching and scraping gently at their erections. And then Haru reaches for himself, guiding his cock head to rub along the underside of Makoto's cock, tracing the red, angry vein there. Makoto throws his head back, gasping, and greedily sucking in air.

"Fuck. Haru," he pants dizzily, "what's... happening?" The red hot, fiery heat coiled in his stomach, aching to be released; desperate for something he couldn't describe. His skin, _unbearably_ hot and itchy. Like a sunburn after staying at the beach for two hours too long. His hips pitches upward, roughly sliding against Haru's... _everything_.  
"Makoto," Haru gasps sharply, "kiss me. ... _Please_." Makoto lifts his head and weakly reaches for him, pulling him to his lips and moaning into his open mouth when he feels Haru's hands grasp both erections. "So fucking good," one of them says but neither is sure who. His hips jerks into his hand and Haru strokes them roughly; aware that they weren't going to last very long but desperately wanting and needing to fall over the precipice. Suddenly, Makoto's hand joins his, their fingers slotting together and with a rough twist of a wrist, their brains short out and they were both coming in thick, explosive spurts, painting their stomachs with the white, sticky substance. Haru collapses bonelessly against Makoto's chest, their hands still lazily pumping at their flagging erections until Makoto sags against the seat.

Lacing their fingers together, Makoto lifts their entangled fingers to his lips and kisses the back of Haru's hand. "We made a mess," his eyes taking in the wreckage of their flat, "again."  
"We _always_ make a mess..." Haru nuzzles against his bare chest, not minding the thin sheen of sweat clinging to his skin. "We shouldn't invite any guests."  
" _Haru_!" He reprimands one last time, laughing all the while.

* * *

Oh Makoto, how do you even function?

Three quarters of the through, I really just wanted to end the chapter by going: "and then they jerked each other off. The end." I shit you not.

So... I really haven't a clue where this is leading which is unusual because I don't usually put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard) until I know the ending. It's so bad... I guess it'll just be a surprise...


	5. Chapter 5

Holy shit snacks y'all. I did some heavy ass editing (or at least it certainly _feels_ that way). For the whole fucking thing.  
Because I am never satisfied.  
Because my brain doesn't know how to _shut the fuck up_ and leave me alone. So go check it out.  
Or don't. I can't tell you what to do.  
But it would be nice is all I'm saying.

* * *

"Well, well, well, I guess you finally decided to make it official, eh?" He scratches his chin in mock contemplation. "It's about damn time!" He smirks gleefully. "For as long as I've known the two of you, and really, even longer than that, you've been in every facet of each others' lives. What's one more, eh?" Haru and Makoto glance at each other briefly, their small smiles not leaving their faces. He gesticulates wildly with his hands and arms in their direction, "and look, clearly, nothing has changed!"  
"Nothing _has_ changed," Haru hums calmly.

 _Please don't say it. Please don't say it. Pleasedon'tsayit._

"...Except the sex."

 _Dammit_.

" _Haru._ " He was doing the stern!Makoto voice again.  
"And that. He's been saying that _a lot_."  
"Because it needs to be said!"  
"In different contexts," he continues as if Makoto hadn't interjected with something akin to a ' _if you know what I mean_ ' smirk.  
" _Haru._ " Makoto's voice, still stern but growing increasingly horrified. _It **cannot** get any worse._  
"But mostly like that."  
"Oh? Tell me more. About the sex, I mean," he leans eagerly against his palm, his attention focused solely on Haru.

 _...Nope. Wrong. So, so wrong. It just got worse. A whole lot worse._

" _Rin_!"  
Rin snaps his head quickly at Makoto, "I'm not your boyfriend. You can't use that tone of voice with me," he taunts.  
"I _can_ and _will_ use this tone of voice on _who_ ever and _when_ ever I want to!"  
"Oh? Look at MaMakoto with the backbone."  
"Makoto has always had a backbone. He just only flexes it when he wants to."  
"And you'd know all about him flexing it, eh, Haru?" He grins lasciviously.  
" _Rin_!"  
"...Haru... Did you just try to Makoto me?"  
"...Did it work?"  
"It wasn't very convincing."  
"This isn't funny," Makoto grumbles while folding his arms across his chest.  
"Makoto." Haru waits until Makoto looks at him. "You're cute when you pout."  
"Haru," Makoto sputters while Rin snickers before turning into full belly guffaws, "I'm surprised you'd even know what 'cute' looks like."  
"Shut up, Rin," Haru replies automatically.  
"Although, I'm with you there, Haru. Makoto is absolutely _adora-fucking-ble_ when he pouts," Rin smirks at Makoto, his sharp teeth gleaming in delight.  
"This isn't fair..." Makoto buries his face in his hands and whines.  
"You get riled up too easily, Makoto."  
"And it's your own fucking fault for falling in love with a blunt idiot. And not just _any_ blunt idiot... _this_ blunt idiot."  
"Rin's right. You sealed your fate the day you decided you wanted to be friends with me."  
Makoto throws his arms in the air, tiring of their blatant teasing, "You guys are the worst. I'm not talking to you anymore."  
"Aw, come on, Makoto. We're just kidding!" Rin reaches over, smiles warmly and squeezes his shoulder, "but seriously, you guys... I'm _really_ happy for you."  
Makoto, sighing in defeat and unable to stay upset and not really wanting to keep his earlier threat, smiles gently at Rin, "thanks, Rin. It means a lot."  
"Don't be mistaken! This changes absolutely nothing! As one of your oldest and dearest friends, I reserve the right to be relentless!"  
"I expect nothing less."

Rin leans back, linking his hands behind his head and rocking his chair on its back legs, "seeing you all domestic-like. It's really is adorable. So precious."  
"Why does everything that comes out of your mouth sound both like an insult and compliment?"  
"It's a gift."

He looks around their cozy apartment, taking note of all the different knick-knacks and photos littering their shelves that reminds him, and surely them too, of Iwatobi. "You should have told me you were moving. I would have helped."  
"Yeah, right. You? Help?" Haru scoffs.  
Makoto adds, "because you have so much money coming out of your ass. You were in Australia, in case you forgot."  
A palpable silence fell over the apartment, "Haru... did... did you break Makoto?"  
"No!" His eyes widens, a little panicky, "d-did I...?" He trains his eyes on Makoto, scanning for any kind of distress from his boyfriend.  
Rin waves his hand dismissively, "that's not what I meant. Also, I'm a little worried at what you _thought_ I meant." He turns to Makoto again, "I meant you saying 'ass.' That was the most vulgar thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth."  
Haru snorts loudly, almost giddily, "that's what you think. You don't even know the half it..."  
Rin's jaw drops in shock and awe, over both Haru's reaction that he didn't know he was capable of _and_ at the revelation of Makoto's apparent potty mouth. "I... what? Wait, no. Don't tell me. ...I think." His brows furrowing in indecision and confusion. He simultaneously wanted to know but knew that the knowing would probably turn his face red faster than a lobster being boiled. And he was not about to let that happen. Not in front of these idiots.

"Haru's exaggerating!" Makoto glares sharply at Haru but he merely shrugged nonchalantly at the silent reprimand. "You should hear the things he says when I-" Rin doesn't hear him finish because in an instant, a flash of brown zooms quickly past and tackles Haru to the ground.  
" _Haru_!" His hand covering his mouth. Haru rolls his eyes and bites him none too gently on the fleshy part of his palm. Makoto yelps and yanks his hand away. "You didn't let me finish. I was going to say-" Makoto stops him again. This time with his mouth. And Makoto can _feel_ Haru grinning into the kiss. He huffs. And Haru thought _he's_ manipulative? "Please. Don't say anymore, Haru-chan."

"Well...this is certainly different!" Grinning as he peered at them, Rin was leaning over the dining table on his forearms. They scrambled to their feet. Well, Makoto scrambled. Haru leisurely rolled to his side before pushing himself off the floor. "Sorry." He waves Makoto's apologies off, "for what? Shutting your boyfriend up? Believe me, it doesn't bother me."

He takes a swig of water from bottle they had given him when he first arrived. "Hey, what time is it?"  
Makoto glances down at his watch, "quarter 'til 6."  
"Fuck. I think I should've picked Sousuke up. The guy can't even navigate his apartment without getting lost."  
Makoto chuckles at Rin's concerned face, "he'll be fine. He's been here before."  
Haru looks sharply at him, "he has?"  
Makoto nods kindly, "we were studying for midterms."  
"Where was I?"  
"Practice."  
"Eh? What this? Is Haru... _jealous_?"

Haru aims a glare in Rin's direction, "don't be ludicrous. Why would I be jealous?"  
"Makoto's a good looking guy! Aren't you, _Tachibana-san_?" His voice drops into a breathy timbre as he licks his incisors seductively and winks both playfully and flirtatiously at Makoto.  
"Hey," Haru growls in warning as Makoto stood wide eyed and mouth gaping. Rin giggles then; actually giggles, high pitched and infectious. Except no one was infected. "Holy shit! You _are_ jealous! Look at you! So _adorable_!" He smooshes Haru's face between his hands. Extremely irritated now, Haru swats his hands away.  
"I don't blame you for getting jealous, Haru. I mean, _look_ at him!" Makoto's face quickly turned pink and then red at the sudden attention he was getting. " _That_ is a good looking man right there! Tell me the truth, Makoto, you get a lot of admirers at school, don't you?" Makoto hems and haws, shifting his feet uncomfortably before confirming, "there's been... a few."  
Rin throws his head back, giggles bubbling once again, "a few, he says! Don't be so modest, Makoto! I know there's been more than a few! I mean, seriously! Look at you!" He demands Haru while gesturing at Makoto. Haru rolls his eyes at Rins antics. He doesn't need to _look_. Because he _knows_. "Tall. Dark. And handsome! Those eyes! And have you seen his shoulders?" He reaches over, practically _climbing over_ the table in excitement, and squeezes, borderline _groping_ , a shoulder _and_ a bicep. "Oh, right, of course you have, what am I saying? Those are some good shoulders to have!" He shakes Makoto lightly.  
"When have _you_ seen his shoulders?" Haru's eyes narrows menacingly.  
Rin blinks momentarily at Haru in confusion before he's laughing again, "he used to swim, Haru! You know, the thing we do while half naked? Or did you forget that? Of course I've seen his shoulders! _Everyone_ has seen his shoulders!"  
"Can we stop talking about my shoulders now? This is making me very uncomfortable."  
"Stop making Makoto uncomfortable, Rin."  
"Sorry, sorry," he genuinely apologizes to them both but he was still grinning. "I didn't mean to ogle and objectify your body. Just wanting to point out that you're attractive as _fuckkkk_."  
Makoto presses his hands to his face in hopes of cooling his burning cheeks, "thank you and noted. But can we _please_ stop now?"  
"Yeah, I'll stop, Makoto." He pats him on his back. He enjoys teasing Haru and Makoto. And while he would _love_ to continue to do so with Haru, he decided Makoto had enough for today. The guy could only take so much before fainting.

Rin opens his mouth to make one last comment but is cut off by three sharp knocks to the door. "I'll get it!"  
"Who does he think he is? Opening _our_ door?"  
"I think he's just excited to see Sousuke, Haru-chan."  
"Then he should have gone to see him first rather than coming here."  
There's a quiet pause before Makoto teasingly asks, "you're not really jealous, are you, Haru-chan?" Makoto is desperately trying to keep the grin that was threatening to overtake his face at bay.  
"What? No." He looks away, hoping Makoto wouldn't see his flushed face. It... was unsuccessful to say the least. "Shut up."

Rin yanks open the door, Sousuke's eyes were downcast and was rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, "sorry I'm late. I got sort of turned around, like, a block down." Sousuke lifts his head and grins at seeing Rin, "Rin!"  
"Sousuke!" Launching himself at his larger friend, he engulfs him into a tight hug.

They break apart and Rin shoves his chest, "did you get taller, you bastard?" Sousuke smirks amusingly at him, "maybe you're just shrinking." Rin shoves him again, "asshole!" He grins and hugs him again. "It's so good to see you, Sousuke."  
Sousuke smiles into Rin hair, inhaling slightly, "I've missed you too, Rin." Rin kicks his shin lightly in embarrassment, "shut up."  
"Rin. Are you crying?"  
"Shut up, Haru!"

* * *

Haru laid on the bed, lazily flipping through his waterfall magazine as he waits for Makoto to finish his nightly ritual. Makoto jumps into the bed, jostling Haru as the bed bounced. "It was good seeing Rin today, wasn't it?"  
"Yeah."  
"So... Rin and Sousuke looked... cozy, right? Or was that just me?"  
"They were."  
"Do you think they're...?"  
"No."  
"No? Why not?"  
"Because they're idiots."  
"You shouldn't call your friends that, Haru-chan."  
"Lay off the -chan. And they're my friends. I can call them however I want. Doubly so for my 'oldest and dearest friend,' Rin." He pauses and rolls his eyes. "It's not even factually correct. _You're_ my oldest and dearest friend. The idiot."  
Makoto's smile was shy and his cheeks are lightly dusted in pink. "You're my oldest and dearest friend too, Haru."

Makoto replays what Haru said, "so Sousuke is a friend!"  
"I never said that. Shut up."  
"It's okay if you think of him as a friend, Haru. No one will think any less of you."  
 _Like I care about that._  
"I know you don't. But Sousuke is a good guy. The whole thing with Rin... It was just his attempt to protect Rin."  
Haru rolls his eyes in a huff, "I know Rin doesn't need protecting. Least of all from you but... Sousuke didn't understand what the relay with us did for him; what it _meant_. He understands it now. He knows he was wrong."

Makoto wasn't telling him anything he didn't already know. He knew that Yamazki found _it_ the day he swam the relay with Rin and the rest of the Samezuka team. And it's not like he actively dislikes the guy. He's... fine. He's a perfectly serviceable human being. He's Rin's friend. And he gets it. Yamazaki is a lot like Makoto in this regard; the desire to look out after a friend, the need to _care_. Only with an extra helping of surliness. It's nothing Makoto wouldn't do for him had he been in that position. He'd be more polite about it but he'd still be menacing. Makoto can do menacing very well. No one knew that about him. But Haru did. He's seen it more than once (but less than a handful). He may come off as a giant cuddly teddy bear at times, but make no mistake, _bears are not cuddly_. Sure, they leave you alone most of the time but provoke them and they are deadly creatures that wouldn't think twice about ripping you apart if you threaten them or a loved one. Tachibana Makoto can be as mama bear and stubborn and persistent and menacing as anyone if the situation calls for it.

Haru slides his eyes over to Makoto who's looking at him expectantly. He rolls his eyes. "I was perfectly polite to him today."  
"You were."  
"I'm not going to bend over backwards to be nicer to him."  
"Not asking you to."  
He sighs begrudgingly, "I suppose... I could have worse friends than Sousuke."  
Makoto's eyes beams at Haru almost blindingly, "you called him Sousuke, Haru-chan!"  
 _Shut up._  
"And you called him your friend! You can't take it back!"  
"I hate you."  
"You do not."  
"I do not," he unnecessarily confirms.  
"I'm happy, Haru-chan."  
"You're too easily pleased, Makoto."  
Deciding to run with the double entendre, Makoto grins, "that's funny, coming from you, Haru-chan." Makoto gently scratches the shell of his ear with his fingernail, causing Haru to shiver. But instead escalating things, he kisses him chastely on the cheek, "good night, Haru-chan."  
"Good night, Makoto."

Makoto switches off the light that plunges the room in darkness and snuggles into the thick blankets next to Haru. After a short beat, Makoto breaks the silence, "about you being jealous..."  
" _Good. Night_ , Makoto."  
Makoto chuckles airily, knowing this is a subject for another day, "good night, Haru-chan."

* * *

Makoto: still the biggest dork to ever dork.  
Manipulative!Haru. But really, who honestly wouldn't?  
Haru knows an awful lot about bears. A LAND CREATURE. (⊙０⊙)  
OH, HI, RIN! So nice of you to drop in! Stop making Makoto uncomfortable. Rin is pretty touchy and huggy and I think he'd totally leer and make lewd and wildly inappropriate comments at his friends.  
And MaMakoto gets a mention! As in a thing that gets said! (￣∀￣)・:*:


	6. Chapter 6

Just wanted to get this up before I hibernate for the long weekend.

I enjoy me some Makoto-Rin friendship and wish the we had more of them.  
Also, Rin is a lot of fun to write so the past two chapters were a joy and a riot for me. (•‿•)

* * *

His nose is buried in a book when he jolts up from the sudden and unexpected knock at his door. He pushes his glasses back up after having slid down from the jump and wobbles to the door, rubbing his knee as he had knocked it into the underside of the table.  
"Makoto! Are you home?"  
Makoto pulls open the door and Rin stumbles in with his fist in the air in mid-knock. Makoto catches and steadies him before Rin could collide with him. Rin grabs his shoulders, smile wide and eyes gleaming, "thank god you're home!"

His eyes widen as he takes stock of Makoto's appearance, " _Jesus fucking Christ_ , Makoto... You wear glasses?! Since when do you wear glasses?"  
"Um, since high school?"  
"I have _never_ seen you in glasses! _Jesus fucking Christ_! You definitely have more than a few admirers at school if you're wearing those to class!"  
"Rin... Not this again..."  
"What? I'm serious! _Jesus fucking Christ_ , you look _really_ good like that. Shit... It's criminal to look that good. That's just not fair! What are the rest of us supposed to do? And by the rest of us, I mean outside of me and you, of course. Fuck, Haru's a lucky fucking bastard."

After a handful of more _Jesus fucking Christs_ that leaves Makoto shaking his head in amusement, Rin finally reveals why he was banging at Makoto and Haru's door. "Sousuke's in class until 3:30. Haru's training until, fuck knows when-"  
"1:30. And then he has a class at 2. He won't be out until 3:30 too."  
"Of course you'd know his schedule. Anyway... I got bored. I walked around Sou's neighborhood and there really isn't anything there so I hoped that maybe you didn't have classes." He turns to him, hands on his shoulders again, "thank god you're home!" Makoto chuckles and smiles warmly, "I don't have classes on Thursdays. You could have just called."  
"Yeah, but if you were in class, I'd be back at square one. At least by me coming here, I killed some time."

He cranes his neck around and sees the mess of paper on the dining table, "fuck. I'm interrupting your school work, aren't I?"  
"It's fine, Rin. I could use the break." Rin chews on his lip feeling guilty but also not that gulity, "you sure?"  
"Yes. How about we get some lunch? We can grab some takeout for Haru too and swing by the pool after we're done." Rin scoffs, "pft. You just want to see your boyfriend."

Rin clutches his sides as he peels into a fit of giggles. "Haru... Boyfriend. Jesus fucking Christ. Are there a pair of words that are more ill-fitted than 'Haru' and 'boyfriend'?" Makoto sighs as he slides his door closed, dead bolting it and joining Rin as they walk down the stairs, "Rin, that's _my_ boyfriend you're talking about..."  
"Come on, Makoto! If you asked _anyone_ a year ago if Haru could be anyone's boyfriend, they would have died of laughter. The guy is as emotional available as a doorknob."

Makoto glares and huffs at that because if anyone should know how untrue that statement is, it's Rin. "You know damn well that's not true. He may not always show it and he may have trouble saying it, but Haru feels things as deeply as you and I. Maybe even deeper." Rin, contrite because he really _does_ know better, keeps his eyes downcast, ducking his head and wanting to shrink inside himself. "I... I know. I'm sorry, Makoto. But it's... It's different with you. You and Haru... You speak a different language. I mean, I'm not so crazy to think that you have _actual_ telepathy but... it damn well feels like it. I always thought that it was _you_ that's reading Haru all this time but... Haru's just as good at reading you. And I _know_ Haru has feelings and that he's not as emotionally distant as he likes portray himself as but..."  
"It'll be nice to hear it. I get it."  
"Sorry," Rin mumbles again. Feeling kind of, but also not really bad at making Rin feel bad, Makoto diffuses the tension and slings his heavy arm around Rin, "come on, I'm starving."

* * *

They arrive at the ramen shop within 20 minutes. Makoto already knows what he wants but Rin is still deciding. "What does Haru usually order? Oh, never mind. That idiot probably gets the spicy miso mackerel, huh? Weirdo." He hems and haws, debating between the shio with extra chashu or spicy miso _without_ mackerel, but with an extra egg. He finally chooses the shoyu with extra chashu _and_ an extra egg. "Big appetite."  
"Hey, I'm an Olympic athlete in training! I have to eat. Lemme guess, Haru just eats mackerel all the time."  
"Well, not _all_ the time..." Makoto tries to defend while Rin snorts.

They talk about nothing of consequence, filling the would be silences with stories of Rin's adventures in Australia and of Makoto's adventures in Tokyo. There's a brief break in the conversation and Rin rests his cheek against his palm and stares at Makoto. Makoto shifts in his seat at the attention. "If you're going to comment on my glasses... Or my shoulders again..."  
"It's not that. It's just... You look really happy." He exhales, shoulders sagging in relief, "I _am_ really happy."  
"I know I said it the other day but... I'm really happy for you guys." Makoto nods, swallowing heavily and overcome with emotion at the unfettered joy and support on Rin's soft face. "Thank you," he offers in a whisper.

"You know... I was worried about you guys for a while. I mean, I knew it would all work out because you're Makoto and Haru but... I was still worried. Haru was just... such a mess." He caught Makoto's quick grimace and as quickly as it came, it went. But he still caught it. They may have moved past it but it was still somewhat of a sore point. "N-not to say you weren't a mess! I'm sure it was hard on you too! Being your first fight and all... but I mean, the guy didn't even want _go in the_ _**water**_. ...He didn't even want to be _near_ it. He didn't even _pack a pair of jammers_! It was some Invasion of the Bodysnatchers-type shit. And... it was scary."  
"But you brought him back, Rin," he swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple visibly bobbing at his throat, "I don't think I thanked you for that." He waves his hand in which he hopes was dismissive, "no need to thank me. It was worth it. He's been a good friend. You both have."

"I'm glad you're here," Makoto blurts out. "I mean, I know you're only here for a week but... still... I'm glad. Texting and calling and Skyping just isn't the same."  
"I'm glad too." Rin's smile wobbling slightly, "you're not going to cry on me, are you?"  
Makoto smirks at Rin's shimmering eyes, "shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?"  
Their food arrives just in time and Rin tells himself that it's the steam from the ramen that's making his face heat up and _nothing_ else, "shut up, Makoto."

* * *

Rin reclines himself comfortably on the couch and grins at Makoto. "So... have you and Haru had sex in this couch?"  
"Rin!" He nearly drops their tea at the question. He takes the tea from Makoto's hands and takes a quick sip; the tea still a tad too hot. "What? You can tell me. Friends talk about this stuff!"  
"Well, they shouldn't! It's... _private_. I want to opt out of these types of conversations."  
"Come on, Makoto!" He wheedles annoyingly. Makoto hesitates, really not wanting to go down this particular line of conversation, "it's not... We're not... Don't listen to Haru." He folds his arms across his wide chest, "we're not having sex!"  
"Hah? Why not?"  
"Because we're... new at this! We're still learning!" He sinks into the seat cushions, wishing it would swallow him whole. "Oh. ...Research? ...Porn?" Makoto sputters inelegantly, "what? No!"  
"There's nothing wrong with porn."  
"I didn't say there was!" Makoto brings his hands to his face, muffling his whines, "oh my god, Rin. Are we seriously having this discussion?"  
"Yes! Yes, we are! There's no opting out!" He rakes his hands over his face, knowing Rin was not going to drop this no matter what. He reluctantly offers, "we're mostly going on instinct at this point. We'll figure out the rest later. And that's all I'm saying on this issue!"  
"Tsk. Fine. I'll just ask Haru." He groans in irritation, "please don't. Nothing he says will even be _close_ to resembling the truth."  
"That's all the more fun."  
" _Rin_." Rin tsks again. He begrudgingly agrees with Haru; he _really_ didn't like it when Makoto uses that tone with him.

Rin fidgets on the couch, folding and then unfolding his legs. Makoto's just about to grab him to get him to stop when Rin suddenly says, "hey... Can I tell you something?"  
"Of course you can." He fully turns and sits to face him, folding his legs across each other on the couch. "You can't tell anyone else!"  
"Okay..."  
"Not even Haru! I mean it! At least not until I figure some stuff out!"  
"Rin! I promise."  
"Okay." Rin rubs his neck then rakes his hands through his long, red hair and takes a deep breath. "Okay. I was thinking about moving my training here. I mean, not necessarily _here_ -here, like Tokyo-here but here-here, as in Japan-here."  
"Rin..."  
"Don't get me wrong! Australia has been great and I love it! It's not like it was before where I was... whatever. But... I miss _here_. It's home. And okay, I know I've said that looking at the ocean and knowing that you guys were looking at the same ocean makes me feel better but Jesus, I miss you guys."  
"When did you say that?"  
"You don't remember?"  
"I don't think you said it to me, Rin."  
"Well, whatever. I said it to _someone_."  
"You really are a hopeless romantic."  
"Shut up." There was a quiet pause, Rin letting Makoto process his thoughts. "What do you think?"

Makoto folds his leg under him and rests his arm on the back of the sofa. "Rin, if you're asking me what you should do, I can't tell you that. There's no way I can be impartial because if you're asking me to choose between Japan and Australia, I'm going to choose Japan. Always. You have to decide for yourself. You have to do what's best for you. It's _your_ future. I _want_ to help, Rin, really I do. But I'm afraid I can't be subjective enough to actually help you in this."  
Rin chews his lip, nicking the inside of his mouth, "I figured you'd say that. ...My coach is willing to come with me."  
"And do you like your coach?"  
"He's been really good. And patient with me."  
"Then you should discuss it with him. Figure out the differences in what Australia and Japan can offer you. Pro and con it out and go from there. If Japan can offer you something Australia can't, choose Japan. If Australia can offer you something Japan can't, choose Australia. Only you can know what you want and need, Rin."  
Rin shakes his head and grins, "And you said you can't help." Makoto shrugs and chuckles, "like I said, I'm not impartial. I want to be selfish and tell you to stay. But I won't. Because it wouldn't be fair. But whatever you decide, Rin, I'll... _we'll_ support you."  
"Thanks, Makoto," he flushes quietly.

After a pause, he smirks at him, his eyes raking over his form, "I sort of want to molest you now."  
" _Rin_."  
"I'm joking! Haru would kill me! I'm too young and too pretty to die."

Makoto shakes his head at his friend and notices the sun dipping over the horizon. "It's getting kind of late, isn't it?"  
"Yeah... I wonder what's taking them."  
"Well, Haru's campus is 20 minutes away from mine and my school is 20 minutes away from here..." Makoto looks at the clock. It's 4:30 now. "Oh... they should be here by now." Rin furrows his brows, lips puckering, "You don't think Haru forgot to meet up with Sousuke, do you?" Makoto adamantly shakes his head, "those are the plans we made. They both confirmed it twice. He didn't forget."  
Rin sucks his lip between his teeth, not wanting to ask but really needing to, "...you don't think Haru just decided to _ditch_ Sousuke, do you?" Makoto pauses. A few days ago, it was definite possibility. Today, though, it's merely a _mild_ possibility. "I hope not."

A shrill chirping from Rin's phone interrupts them and before Rin even says hello, Haru's voice filters through, "where's your boyfriend?"  
"Wha-what the _hell_ , Haru? I don't have a-"  
"I'm where I'm supposed to be and your boyfriend is nowhere to be seen."  
"He's not-! Stop calling him that," Rin hisses.  
"I've been waiting here for almost 40 minutes. He isn't here."  
"Fuck. Hang on." He snaps his fingers at Makoto, "can you call-?"  
"Already on it."

"Your boyfriend's an idiot."  
"I swear, Haru, call him that one more time..."  
"What? An idiot?"  
"You fucking _asshole_." He rubs his face in irritation. Haru knew _exactly_ what he meant... _Asshole_. Dealing with Haru is so god damn _aggravating_.  
"Why didn't you call him?" He is met with a stony silence and thought the call had dropped when he realizes Haru was probably staring at... something. He rolls his eyes, "you know I can't see you, right? And even if I can, I'm not Makoto. I don't know what your silences mean!"  
"Why would I have his number?"  
"For situations like this!"  
"This situation isn't common enough for me to have his number."  
"Haru," Rin's voice is pleading, "I'm texting you his number."  
"Don't want it."  
"Too bad!" Haru hangs up on him without saying goodbye.

Rin curses him under his breath. Was Haru always this _**frustrating**_? ...Yes. Yes, he has. He looks at Makoto. The man was a saint for being able to put up with Haru for so fucking long. He was still on the phone with Sousuke, patiently trying to ascertain where he was. Makoto is _definitely_ a saint. He ought to call up the Vatican and see if the Pope will grant him sainthood.

 _...Is the Pope listed in the YellowPages?_

"...Yes, I'm well aware of of that, Sousuke..."  
"I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be! It's your boyfriend that's missing!"  
"Look, just... tell me where you are right now."  
"Like I _said_ , I'm in the courtyard."  
"Yes, but _which_ courtyard?"  
"What do you mean _which_ courtyard?"  
"There's more than one courtyard, Sousuke."  
"... _Shit_. Are you serious?" He sighs and closes his eyes, willing the headache that's rapidly forming away go away, "where are you?"  
"In the courtyard by the Physical Sciences building."  
"You were supposed to meet him at the courtyard by the Biological Sciences building. You confirmed this _twice_ , Sousuke."  
"The Biologic- where's the Biological Sciences building?" His patience wears _dangerously_ thin at that, "where's the- what do you _mean_ where's the Biological Sciences building? You just had a class there!"  
"I did?"  
Throwing his head back, he rubs his eyes, and groans. _Are you kidding me?_  
"Yes, you did! Sousuke..." Makoto takes a deep, calming breath, "the Biological Sciences building is on the _other_ side of the campus..." he shakes his head and reconsiders giving him directions, "you know what? Just... stay there. I'll let Haru know where you are. He'll come get you."  
"Wait, what?"  
He continues as if he hadn't said anything, "Haru's familiar with the campus. He should be there soon."  
"He doesn't even go here!"  
"Yeah, but he'd meet me for lunch sometimes. Or he'd bring me lunch. Or we'd hang out in between classes."  
"Oh." There was a pause on Sousuke's end. "No, you know what? I'll figure it out. I'm not going to lose to a guy that doesn't even go to this school!'  
"Sousuke!"

 _Eh? ...Are you fucking kidding me?_

"...S-Sousuke?"

 _ **...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?**_

He turns to Rin, his mouth flapping open and shut in shock, "he... he hung up on me. He going to try to make to Haru instead of waiting for him like a sane person because there's no way he's 'going to lose to a guy that doesn't even go to this school.' Rin..."  
Rin rubs his neck nervously, "shit..."  
" _Rin_... _what the fuck_?"  
"Makoto..." Rin's eyes widen; Haru commented on Makoto's foul language but... it was obvious Haru meant it in an _entirely_ different context.  
"What is _**it**_ with _you_ and _Sousuke_? I mean, seriously... what the _actual fuck_? He's willing to get even _more_ lost for what? Does he have brain damage?!"  
Rin stops and starts in trying to calm his friend, his lips flapping open and shut uselessly, "Ma...Makoto. Ca-calm down." Makoto whips his head to Rin; his face red in both frustration and anger. Rin flinches; he'd never seen Makoto like this. "Don't worry." Makoto sucks in a breath, nostrils flaring in annoyance and even though this was unfamiliar to Rin, he instantly recognizes that he's gearing up for another rant, "I'll-I'll call him right now and yell at him, o-okay?" He grabs his phone, "look, I'm calling right now."

 _Pick up, you fucking asshole. Pick. Up._

After several rings, he finally picks up, "Sou! Stop whatever you're doing right now!"  
"What? Why?"  
"Just do what I fucking say, you idiot!"  
"All right! Jesus. No need to shout."  
"Where the _fuck_ are you?" Rin hisses hurriedly.  
He looks around but nothing seems familiar, "fuck... I don't actually know."  
"Oh my _god_ , Sousuke. I'm going to _kill_ you..." And if he doesn't, Makoto might.  
"Oh! I'm right in front of the Phys. Ed. building." Rin slaps Makoto in the chest, covering the mouthpiece of his phone, "Phys. Ed." Makoto sends Haru a text and gets a return message in less than two seconds: _idiot_.

He snorts, feeling bad that he had reprimanded Haru in calling him that the other day but couldn't help but concur in this instance.

* * *

He makes it to the Physical Education building within three minutes with ease and immediately spots Yamazaki. He's tempted to just leave him here. Why did he wait _40 minutes_ for him? Rin should have picked him up. He would have been home with Makoto by now. Haru stomps over to him but when Yamazaki doesn't notice him, he clears his throat; loudly. Yamazaki spins around at a dizzying rate, "oh, Nanase. Where did you come from?" Haru refrains from rolling his eyes (Makoto would be so proud) and grits out, "the courtyard by the _Biological Sciences_ building. Where we were _supposed_ to meet."  
"I must have gotten turned around."  
"You don't say. How do you even function?" _That wasn't very polite, was it? Should I apologize?_  
"You're one to talk. You water-loving, mackerel-eating stripper." _Neither was that. ...Yeah, totally_ _ **not**_ _apologizing._  
This time, he _doesn't_ refrain from rolling his eyes. "I haven't stripped in a long time." He tilts his head and nods towards the direction of the train station. "Let's just go. We're already late because of you."  
"How is this my fault?"  
" _You're_ the one that didn't show up where you were supposed to. That makes _your_ fault."

Sousuke held his tongue at that because, okay, yes, it totally was his fault because this campus is gigantic and he didn't pay attention to where he was going and how was he supposed to know that the Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences buildings were two _separate_ buildings? It was all just very _confusing_. Sousuke shakes out of his revere when he notices Haruka is speaking.

"...koto and Rin will be starving by the time we get back and I haven't even gotten the groceries yet."  
"Wait, you're cooking?"  
"I refuse to let him eat out for two consecutive meals. It's unhealthy." _Him_ being Makoto. He could care less about Rin.  
"Oh right, he went out with Rin for lunch, didn't he?"

Haru pulls out his phone and immediately taps on Makoto number. It rings just once before Makoto is on the line. "Haru? Is everything okay? Did you find him?"  
"Yes. He was in front of the Physical Education building." He hears Makoto sigh in relief and had the sudden urge to kick Yamazaki in the shin for making his boyfriend worry. "Do me a favor and go to the market and get some groceries. Enough food for four."  
"You're going to cook, Haru-chan?"  
"Lay off the -chan. You already went out for lunch. You really want to go out for dinner too?" Makoto rubs his stomach. If given a choice between Haru's cooking and going somewhere, he's always going to pick Haru's cooking. He just didn't want to trouble him.  
"It's no trouble, Makoto." Even over the phone, Makoto was easy to read. "It's easy. Just take Rin with you and get some stuff." Makoto hums and nods, "what should I get?"  
"Whatever you want. I'll figure it out what to do with it when I get there."  
"Like a surprise?"  
"Yes, Makoto. Like a surprise."  
"Okay. See you soon, Haru! Bye!"  
"Bye, Makoto."

They were already boarding the train when he hangs up with Makoto. The car was unfortunately full so they were left standing and squished among a sea of people. Sousuke's heavy body sways into Haru's at a particularly sharp turn, pinning Haru against the door. "Sorry," Sousuke mutters. Haru grunts in response. Yamazaki isn't _that_ much taller than Makoto, is he? Just, like, two centimeters, right? But he's towering over Haru like a... big, towering thing. And they're practically the same build. Granted, his chest is slightly broader, thanks to him being a butterfly stroker. Maybe that's why he looks so daunting compared to Makoto. And you know, the gruffness in contrast to Makoto's sunny disposition.

"You know, I can probably help you with dinner," Yamazaki's deep voice rumbles, interrupting his thoughts. Haru's head snaps up to look at him but he's looking straight ahead. "I'm pretty handy in the kitchen."  
Haru snorts, "Makoto says he's handy in the kitchen. He's not." Yamazaki mirrors his snort, "yeah, I've seen him in the kitchen. He can barely reheat leftovers." He pauses, "that was mean, wasn't it?"  
"He's not _that_ hopeless. That said, he's pretty hopeless."  
"Good thing he's got you then. Or else he'd die of starvation."  
"Or from eating too much instant ramen." Haru scrunches his brows, "when have you seen him in the kitchen?"  
"...When I was over to study for a midterm?" He finally turns his head to look at Haru. "We got hungry and there were some leftovers from the night before. I think he said you made it. It was pretty good, by the way." Haru looks away at the compliment, "it nothing."

After shuffling around to let the other passengers out, Haru looks at Sousuke again, "how often do you study with Makoto?"  
"Often enough." He meets Haru's eyes, "why? Jealous?" He smirks tauntingly. But Haru just huffs and rolls his eyes. He wishes they'd just shut up about this. "Shut up."  
"I get it... Makoto walks into a room with his modelesque good looks and everyone's eyes are on him." He glances at Sousuke. He's considered good looking, right? As in people would consider Yamazaki attractive? He's only ever been attracted to Makoto but the artist in him recognizes that he's probably considered to be traditionally attractive. "Maybe they're looking at you." He shrugs with a smirk, "it's a possibility. I've had my fair share of admirers but with Makoto... I've had to help him beat them off with a stick once or twice." Haru grunts at the revelation, "that doesn't happen when _I'm_ around."  
"Probably because they don't want to approach him while he's with a sourpuss."

 _..._ _ **I'm**_ _the sourpuss? Have you met yourself?_

"...How many?"  
"How many what?" He glares at him. Yamazaki knows _exactly_ what he's asking. _The ass_.  
He laughs, "I've lost track of how many eyes follow him around campus but he's had a handful of confessions since we've started hanging out."

 _That's it_ , he decides. The next time he's on campus with Makoto, he's dragging him up to the rally stage in the middle of his campus and making out with him for everyone to see. _**Not**_ _because he's jealous_ , he tells himself. But because he knows that all the attention makes Makoto uncomfortable so if he makes it clear that Makoto is _unavailable_ and _uninterested_ for all to see, they'll leave him alone. _Yeah. That's why. It's strictly for Makoto's benefit._ He nods affirmatively to himself. _It's a good plan._ Ignoring the fact that said plan is sure to garner even _more_ attention and Makoto may actually die of embarrassment if said plan were to ever be carried out. A viable plan.

"You said you're handy in the kitchen?"  
He smirks, looking supremely smug and confident, "well, I certainly won't be reaching for a fire extinguisher."  
"Good enough. You can help."  
"Oh, how generous of you, Haruka."  
His eyes widen at his given name and looks away, "Haru," he mutters quietly.  
"What?"  
"... _Don't_ call me Haruka. It's _Haru_ ," he clarifies louder. Haru notices the smirk and realizes he called him Haruka for the sole purpose of annoying him.  
"Haru, it is."

* * *

Turns out, Sousuke was more than 'pretty handy' in the kitchen. He was highly competent and he ended up cooking half the meal much to Haru's delight.

He's still an idiot though.

* * *

OMG, they're all idiots. I don't mean to use that word so excessively but sometimes... And at this point, it's a term of endearment. (Boom! Title name!)

Jesus fucking Christ, Rin, I need to wash your mouth with a heavy duty solvent.

I had a different conversation lined up for Makoto and Rin but then I thought, "hey, wouldn't it be nice if they had a conversation that didn't revolve around Haru?" So I scrapped that one for the one we get here. I think it's much better.

Also, as I was writing the Haru-Sousuke portion, I kept going back and forth on calling him Sousuke and Yamazaki. I was going to change it to make it consistent but I decided to leave it because Haru probably goes back and forth on it too.

Well, that's a lot of notes...

Anyway, it's been a weird week and I thrive on feedback. So be a dear, leave a comment or what have you and brighten up my day! ( ˘ ³˘)


	7. Chapter 7

So... um... Chapter 7 for this is outrageously smutty and has zero bearing on, well, anything. And since FF doesn't allow explicit content, allow me to provide you with the AO3 link of this instead:  
/works/4960912

Edit: Or at least try to because FF doesn't let me for... I guess, reasons? So... I'm sure you know the drill: archiveofourown[.org]/works/4960912  
Just delete those brackets and enjoy!

Enjoy and give me a holler there! See you next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

In case you haven't seen or wasn't made aware, there's an addendum (posted separately on AO3) to Chapter 7, January. So you may want to check that out first. It's not necessary to follow what's going on in this chapter because the addendum was mostly pure smut but just in case you're interested and missed it the first time around, I'll link it to you: archiveofourown[.org]/works/5422904

Not sure when I'll have time again to post so I just wanted to post this before the holidays!

Enjoy!

* * *

Makoto fidgets excitedly in his seat, scanning over the program for Haru's races. Haru is participating in several heats today: the 100m freestyle prelims and the 200m freestyle prelims. And if his time qualifies, he'd also swim in both quarter-finals.

"Makoto," a heavy hand slaps Makoto's shoulder. Makoto's eyes light up at the unexpected appearance of his friend.  
"Sousuke! You're here! Wait, why are you here?"  
He grins affectionately at his friend, "of course, I'm here. I have to support my friend in his first major competition, don't I?"  
Makoto's smile reaches his eyes, "Aw, you called him your friend!" Sousuke rolls his eyes at Makoto's enthusiasm. "Haru will be so glad."  
"Is that so? Best not to tell him then."  
Makoto snorts, "why do the two of you insist on antagonizing each other?" Sousuke shrugs indifferently, unsure of how to answer. "And it's not just you and Haru. It's _Rin_ and _Haru_. And then _you_ and _Rin_! Why can't you just admit that you like each other?"  
"This is better. It's easier. Funnier. It's just how we communicate. It's comfortable."  
"It's unnecessary!"  
Sousuke frowns, "well, what about you and Haru?"  
"Haru and I don't antagonize each other!" Sousuke snorts and side-eyes him in disbelief. "I... We don't!" Makoto insists before his brain snaps into place. He narrows his eyes, "wait... What has Haru been saying?"  
"Nothing. But you asking that question tells me everything I need to know."  
" _Sousuke_."

 _Ah. So **this** is the tone Rin and Haru were talking about._ It... amuses him. He still doesn't care for it though.

"I don't care for that tone, Makoto."  
He crosses his arms and sits at his full height, clearly going for intimidating which is difficult to do to someone who is basically the same size as you, "I don't care what tone you do or don't care for, Sousuke. Ignore whatever Haru's been saying."  
He shakes his head in denial, "I told you, he hasn't said anything."  
"Yeah right," Makoto rolls his eyes in a way that would make Haru proud.  
"Oh look, Haru's heat is next."  
"No it's not. It's not for another 20 minutes."

 _Damn it._

"Oh hey, have you registered for classes for next semester?"  
"Don't change the subject!"  
"I'm not! It's a serious question!"  
He narrows his eyes but lets it slide all the same, "I don't register until Friday. Why?"  
"I thought maybe we can take Principles of Anatomy together. You have to take that class for your degree, right?"  
"Yeah…"  
He nods and grins at Makoto's bewilderment, "well, our study sessions from this semester have been really helpful so I thought maybe we can continue that."

Their study sessions have been going well so far. He's performing a lot better and easier this semester than he did the previous one. Even though they take frequent breaks to play video games or complain about their other classes. "What sections are you looking at?"  
"I heard good things about Dr. Yoshino's class and he's got two classes available: Monday-Wednesday, from 11-12:30 and Tuesday-Thursday, from 1:30-3."  
"I'll have to double check the schedule. I might have to shuffle some things around but yeah, sounds good."  
"Cool. Lemme know before Thursday, yeah? I register in the morning."  
"Sure."

They discuss the final exam that's in two weeks and laments on the question they both missed on the midterm until Haru's heat is announced. They shout and scream his name but they're drowned out by the rest of the cheering patrons. That doesn't stop them from screaming until their throats grow raw though.

* * *

"Not bad, Nanase," his praise is lukewarm at best and once again, clearly trying to antagonize him.  
"I finished second." Sousuke rocks back on his heels and smirks, "that's still not first."  
"Whatever. Idiot."

Makoto sighs. He knows that this is what they consider 'friendly' banter but honestly, it's maddening that they can't say two words to each other without some kind of snarky undertone.

"Am I going to have to lock you two in a room?"  
"So we can kill each other?"  
"Please, like you can even touch me."  
"You want to find out? Who's the professional athlete here?"  
"Professional athlete in training." He glares at him.  
"Okay. That's enough. Let's just get dinner, okay? I will not stand for any bloodshed." The two smirk at each other and it became obvious that they just wanted to get a rise out of Makoto just as much as they did the other.

Makoto huffs and rolls his eyes. "Did you get to see your parents, Haru?"  
"Yeah. We're supposed to have brunch tomorrow."  
"Oh. That's nice."  
"We as in you, me, them."  
He stops abruptly, "wait, what?"  
Haru arches an eyebrow in confusion, not understanding the panicked look on his face, "they want to see you."  
"But... Why?"  
"Are you serious? ... Because they've known you for almost your whole life? Because they haven't seen you in a while? Because we grew up together? Because you're dating their son? Do I really need to explain this?"  
"But…"  
"What's the big deal? You know my parents. They know you."  
"But that was before us!" He gesticulates wildly.  
"Oh, for ... Makoto, nothing's changed. They still adore the nice boy next door that befriended their son." He paused for effect, "even if you are sleeping with their only son."  
"Haru! Please don't say stuff like that in front of your parents…"

Sousuke snickers at the domestic quarreling. If it can even be called that. "I wish I had popcorn. This is very amusing."  
"Shut up, Sousuke."  
Sousuke ignores him though and continues, "meeting the parents. That must be exciting."  
"He's not _meeting_ them. He's _met_ them. We're just having brunch together. Stop overreacting."

They continue to walk to the quiet cafe just around the corner when Sousuke notices Makoto wringing his hands and reassures him, "you'll be fine, Tachibana! You're the most likable person I have _ever_ met. A single smile from you and anyone would be at your mercy. But first impressions are important so remember to be polite. And bring a gift."  
Haru's face remained that of indifference but there was an palpable air of frustration emanating, "are you stoned? I just said it's not a big deal."  
"Flowers for mom. Sake for dad," Sousuke resumes.

And really, this is just another way of annoying Nanase, knowing how much the persistence of _acting_ like Makoto will be meeting his parents for the very first time irks him.

Makoto nods his head at Sousuke's suggestions. "But obasan and ojisan have never followed traditional gender roles."  
"Then sake for mom and flowers for dad. Problem solved."  
Haru's eyes narrow in irritation. To anyone else, they wouldn't have even noticed. But Sousuke's been studying his face for subtle changes since this conversation started and this was definitely a Haru that's irritated at being ignored.  
"What? No. Makoto, don't listen to him."  
Makoto doesn't hear him and scratches his chin,"but flowers die. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like flowers but they don't last very long."  
"Then get a plant. Or chocolates."  
"Oo! Chocolate! I like chocolate."  
" _You're_ not the one eating it, Makoto." He readies himself for the outburst he's sure is coming with his next comment. "It's for your _in-laws_."  
"In-laws? What the hell are you talking about, Yamazaki?"

 _Okay, that was more subdued than I was expecting… Interesting. Also, what a shame._

Haru grabs Makoto's arm, "Makoto! Ignore Sousuke. He's delusional. Pay no attention to him."  
"But Haru-chan... These are your parents!" He whines in a panic.  
Haru stomps his foot, "I swear, Makoto," and punctuates each word with pokes at Makoto's stupidly solid chest, "if you listen to any one of this buffoon's ideas, you are sleeping on the couch."  
"Huh," Sousuke murmurs in curiosity. "That was not how I thought that ultimatum would go."  
"What do you mean?" Makoto tilts his head inquisitively.  
"I thought he were going to threaten to break up with you if you followed any of my recommendations."

Haru's expression finally changes noticeably as Haru and Makoto both looked positively _horrified_ with wide eyes, eyebrows shooting up to their hairline and mouths gaping comically at the mere suggestion. A cacophony of "woahs!" and "what the hell?" and "are you demented?" is thrown in his direction.  
"We would _never_ joke about that. What is the matter with you?" Haru doesn't have a whole lot of expressions but Sousuke instantly recognizes that this one is the ultimate combination of abject horror, nausea, outrage, and a pinch of... pity?  
"Honestly, Sousuke... that is _not_ something you casually throw out when you want to get your way. That's... awful." Makoto shakes his head at him and, sweet baby Zeus, if there's one thing to go through life without ever experiencing, it would be having Tachibana Makoto shake his head at you in disappointment.  
"All right! Calm down. I get it. Forget my suggestions, Makoto. It's not worth it to sleep on the couch. That thing is a torture device."

There's a long pause as Sousuke holds the door open for them, "but seriously, maybe flowers would be a good idea."  
"Oh, for the love of...!"

* * *

His arms are folded over his chest and he taps an impatient finger on his elbow. "So… you're the boy my son has decided to bring home," Mr. Nanase's eyes narrow at Makoto but there's a playful glint behind it.  
Haru rolls his eyes in boredom, "we're at a restaurant, dad."  
"You know what I mean."  
"And it's not like I've never brought him home before. I've brought him home nearly every other day. For years. You've watched him grow up for crying out loud."  
"Stop teasing Haruka and Makoto-kun, dear."  
"If I can't tease my son, who can I tease?"

His face is bright red and feels hotter than its ever been before, "it's very good to see you again, obasan, ojisan."  
"It's nice to see you too, Makoto-kun."  
Mr. Nanase scratches his chin, "I must say, I never thought you'd bring some one home for us to meet."  
"Is everyone mental? I'm not bringing him _home_. And you're not _meeting_ him. You've known Makoto for almost his _whole life_." His mother laughs at her son's exasperation, "first meeting or not, it doesn't matter as long as he's taking care of my son."  
"What do you think he's _been_ doing all these years?"

A terse silence falls over the table. Makoto's arm freezes in midair as he had been attempting to pour tea. Haru's eyes widen as he realizes what he said and his parents look away shamefully.

"I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean it like that… I-"  
His father shakes his head gently, "no, we… we deserved that. We weren't there for you when you needed us. We're sorry."  
Haru shakes his head adamantly, "I made the decision to stay."  
"You were a child," Haru's mother begins to say.  
"I wasn't..." he insisted.

He didn't want his parents to feel bad about leaving him in Iwatobi. Yes, there were moments where he resented them but they were brief moments that were few and far between.

"You were. You might have been more mature than the kids your age, but you were still a child. We shouldn't have agreed so easily," her voice is gentle but laced with painful undertones.  
"I didn't give you a choice. I _wanted_ to stay. I'm _glad_ I stayed."

And he really was. Truly. Because if he hadn't stayed, he wouldn't have been reunited with Nagisa and Rin and even Gou.  
He wouldn't have met Rei.  
He wouldn't have had his best friend.  
His life would have been a little bit colder, a little bit emptier. He _needed_ his parents to understand this. He doesn't blame them at all. Because he loved the life he had in Iwatobi. Even the not so great parts.

"Then we should have been _there_ , Haruka," his father insists.  
"...You're here now. That's just as important." His mother nods gratefully but her eyes still shimmer with unshed tears.  
"Makoto-kun… I truly have to thank you for taking care of Haruka. I can't express my gratitude."  
Makoto rubs the back of his head bashfully, "honestly, he takes care of _me_ more than I do him. I just delivered him the bentos my mom made."

Haru swallows roughly at Makoto downplaying everything he's done and _still_ does for him.  
"Then we'll have to thank your parents as well."  
"How about this? The next time you boys have a nice, long break we'll fly back to Iwatobi."  
"Dad…"  
"What? You don't want to?"  
"I do. Of course, I do but…"  
"Well, there you go. We haven't been back in a while. We can see our friends. You can see your friends. Check up on the house. Make sure we like the tenants and if we don't, we'll kick them out."  
"The Tachibanas recommended them. They're good people, Dad."  
"Well then, that's something else we'll have to thank your parents for, Makoto-kun."  
"That settles it. The next time you have a break, the four of us will go home. My treat."  
"Oh no, ojisan, I couldn't possibly accept," at Haru's mother's good natured glare, he clears his throat and amends, "I mean, thank you very much, ojisan, obasan."

He claps his hands together and rubs them, "excellent! Let's order some food, hm? I'm starving. Your mother didn't let me have breakfast."  
"I told you to have some toast! It's not my fault you refused it!"

As his parents bicker good-naturedly in the background, Haru exhales in relief. He did not expect to have this conversation with his parents. At least, not in front of Makoto. But when Makoto reaches under the table to squeeze his hand and smiles at him reassuringly, he was glad he's here.

Really, _really_ glad.

 _Gods, I love him_.

* * *

I need more Sousuke in my life.

We're finally outside the apartment! I know we've been outside the apartment before but those were really short scenes. So this is nice.

Oh, and uh, in case anyone is wondering... Makoto totally gave Haru a celebratory suck job when they got /  
I can already hear Stern!Makoto at that.

Also of note: I may discontinue posting this story on FF and post on AO3. I don't know. We'll see. I'm debating. It's sort of a pain in the bunghole to post on FF. So if that happens, I hope you follow me there!

Thanks for visiting! See you next water time!


	9. Chapter 9

I'm back! I didn't fall off a cliff! Apologies for taking so long! But at long last, I'm posting!

Now, this is one of my favorite chapters. It was an absolute joy to write and I'm just laughing so fucking hard.

Now, there's a lot going on in this chapter. Too many cocks in the kitchen. I mean, cooks! Too many cooks!  
There's a lot of dialogue but I hope won't be too difficult to follow. There's a lot of talking over one another because that's what actually happens when a big group of people get together.

* * *

They barely make it through the door when a speeding flash of yellow is careening into them. "MAKO-CHAN! HARU-CHAN! I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" His grip on them is tight and he rubs his cheek against Haru's chest.  
"We've missed you too, Nagisa," Makoto pats his head affectionately and then smiles at Rei, "you too, Rei." Rei nods in return, happy they're together again after so long. "Nagisa-kun, please unhand Haruka-senpai. He's a professional athlete. You mustn't hurt him."  
"I'm not hurting Haru-chan! Right, Haru-chan?"  
"It's fine, Rei." If he's being honest with himself, he missed the clingy blonde and all his antics. He's not honest to himself though. "And you can just call me Haru." Rei gapes at him, wide eyed and speechless.  
"I think you broke Rei-chan, Haru-chan."  
"I'm fine!" He snaps out of his stupor, "it's just... It's just really good to see you and Makoto-senpai again. It's been too long."  
"Rei... How many times do I have to tell you? Just Makoto is fine."  
"Ah. Right. Of course. Sorry, Makoto-se— Makoto."

Nagisa pulls the two to a large table but forces them to squeeze in like sardines in a can.  
"Rin's not here yet?"  
"Rin-chan should be here soon. He called ten minutes ago to say he got off the train." Makoto picks up a menu and asks, "what about Sousuke? Should someone pick him up?"  
"Not me."  
"Of course not, Haru-chan."  
"Rin-san said that they're going to get in around the same time. He's waiting for him so they both should be here soon."  
"What about Kou?" Haru asks curiously. He wasn't sure if she planned on attending the impromptu reunion but hopes that she will. It'll be nice to see her again too. Nagisa grins, "she has a _date_. She'll be here later."  
"A date? A date with who?"  
"Oh, Rin-chan, you look so different! Did you dye your hair? And go through another growth spurt?" Makoto rolls his eyes playfully at Nagisa, "oh, haha. Very funny. I can't be concerned for her?"  
"Of course you can. But there's no need. He's a very nice guy. Besides, Gou-chan can handle herself."  
"It's true. I've seen her."

Makoto fidgets with the menu, chewing his lip and glancing around him nervously, "are we going to get kicked out? I feel like we're going to get kick out. We're going to get kicked out. I never should have let Rin choose this place."  
"We're not going to get kicked out," Rin struts in with Sousuke trailing closely behind.  
"Rin-chan! Sou-chan!"  
"We're at a bar, Rin! In case you haven't noticed, none of us are 20!" He grins cockily while the rest of the table glares at him unamused. Except for Nagisa. Nagisa smiles happily at him. "Oh, relax. We'll be fine. I know the owner."  
"You know the owner? You're so cool, Rin-chan!" Nagisa coos while Sousuke tuts at him, "how the hell would you know the owner of a bar?"  
"The _owner_ is a friend of my _mom's_."  
"Oh."  
"Yeah, _oh_. So we'll be fine. They won't be serving you alcohol. Just me."  
"They shouldn't be serving you alcohol at all!" Makoto hisses. "Shh! They don't know that!" Rin smothers his hands over his mouth. "Mom didn't mention that when she asked him to let us hold our little get together here! Just that it was for her… _university-aged_ son. They didn't ask her to elaborate. So shut up. I'm getting my goddamn alcohol."

Rei pushes his glasses up out of habit, "according to my calculations, if we stay here for three hours, Rin-san can safely consume three, 350mL cans of beer _without_ getting impaired." Rin's scrunches his nose, "but… I _want_ to get drunk."  
"You're an Olympic athlete, Rin-san! You shouldn't be drinking!"  
"That's not the only reason why he shouldn't be drinking…" Makoto mutters peevishly.  
"Oh, shut up, you worrywart. And Olympic athletes drink all the time! Haven't you heard all the shit they get up to staying at the Olympic Village? Sex and alcohol. You'd fit right in, Haru," he waggles his eyebrows in Haru and Makoto's direction.  
" _Rin_."  
"You know... I'm starting to like it when you use that tone with me, Makoto. It means I'm doing something right." He winks at him and Makoto predictably splutters.

While Rin calls to the server and orders some drinks (beer for him, tea for everyone else), Makoto grins amicably at Sousuke. "Hey, how'd you do on the final?"  
"Actually, better than I expected. You?"  
"About as good as I was expecting."  
"We might have killed the curve."  
"Whoops?"  
They continue their discussion of some of the questions they missed and decide that they should split the cost and usage of the textbook for Dr. Yoshino's course.

Rin tries to follow the multitude of conversations happening before turning to Rei. "So Rei, are you ready for university?" The rest of the conversations break off as they all seemed interested in what the youngest of the group had to say.  
"I'm a little nervous to be honest. But also excited. Tohoku University has an excellent Aeronautical Engineering program. I had an offer for Tokyo Institute of Technology but I just couldn't turn down Tohoku's offer."  
"Rei-chan is a genius!" Nagisa boasts.  
"I am sadden that we won't see each as often as we could had I chosen Tokyo though." His eyes dart from Makoto, Haru, and surprisingly, even Sousuke. Makoto smiles warmly and assures him that it's only a two hour train ride and they'll be able to meet up as often as they wish. "Yes. And perhaps I'll pursue my graduate degree there after I'm done with my undergraduate."  
"I'm proud of you. I'm sure your parents are too."  
"You're such a _mom_ , Mako-chan!"  
"Shut up, Nagisa."  
Rei clears his throat at the interruption, "yes, thank you, Makoto-sen— ah, sorry."  
"It'll take some time getting used to."  
Haru nods firmly, "we'll get a futon for you. You can stay with us when you come visit."  
"Oh, Haruka-senpai, you don't have to do that! Please don't trouble yourself." Haru aims a gentle glare at the blue haired member. "I... Thank you, Haruka-sen…" Another glare. "Haru...ka-san."

"And you, Nagisa?" Sousuke asks, "have you decided?" Everyone at the table is briefly taken aback at the question that came from the _least_ likely member of their group.  
"I did! I'm going to attend the University of Tsubuka!"  
Makoto eyes widen in pleasant surprise, "really? That's only an hour and a half away!"  
"Yep! You're going to see me _a lot_!" He winks and smiles at the table widely. He then turns his attention to Haru. "Get me a futon too, Haru-chan!"  
Haru turn away, blowing his hair out of his eyes, "get your own futon."  
"Aw, Haru-chan! That hurts me on the deepest level," he clutches his chest in mock pain but quickly recovers to cling onto Sousuke instead, "I'll stay with Sou-chan then!"  
"Wait, what? I'm not getting you a futon either!"

They squabble some more until Rin suddenly to blurts out, "hey, hey, hey! I'm staying in Japan too!"  
The squawking and giggling _screeches_ to a grinding halt at Rin's announcement. Only Makoto is smiling gently at him. "You've decided?" Rin nods enthusiastically and grins, "yep!" Sousuke purses his lips and his eyes tighten in confusion, "decided what?"  
"I'm moving my training to Japan!"  
Nagisa gasps in uncontained glee, "really, Rin-chan?" Rin nods and Nagisa claps happily, bouncing in his seat.  
"You knew about this?" Haru asks his boyfriend. Makoto rubs his neck sheepishly and shrugs, "I knew he was _thinking_ about it, yes."  
"And you didn't tell me?" Sousuke waves his hand dismissively at Haru, "forget you! He didn't tell _me_!"  
"Hey! Leave him alone." He pushes Haru and Sousuke away from crowding Makoto even more, "I told him not to say anything to anyone!"  
"Where?" Sousuke hopes that the question didn't sound too breathless. "No where close to you guys," Rin grumbles. "I'll be in Kyoto."  
"It's still closer than Australia," Sousuke grins happily.

Makoto's smile grows at that but still asks, "Rin, are you sure?"  
"I am. I thought about it a lot. Discussed it with my coach, some of the guys on the team. I didn't take this decision lightly, Makoto. I swear. You should see all the lists I made."  
"And you're sure? You're happy with this?"  
"I am. I mean, it won't happen until May but…" he nods for emphasis, " _really_ happy."  
Makoto's face stretches into a full blown smile, eyes twinkling in delight, "then I'm happy for you, Rin. "  
"Awww," Nagisa fawns and then declares, " _DOG PILE ON RIN-CHAN_!"  
"What? Wait! No! Olympic athlete here!"  
"Oh, Rin-chan, you can't escape the dog pile!" The unmistakable gleam in Nagisa's eyes sends a shiver down Rin's spine.

Desperate to distract Nagisa from crushing him, he blurts, "Oh, hey, did you know that these two are banging?" Rin gestures enthusiastically in Makoto and Haru's direction.  
" _Rin_!" Rin grins widely and he has never looked more shark-like than at that moment. "Heh, I love it when you said my name like that, Makoto."  
"Oh-ho, Rin-Rin," Nagisa chuckles in amusement, "that is just _so_ cute. But I knew before you did." Rin's head whips to Nagisa and then back to Haru and Makoto, "What? You told _him_ before you told _me_? Your oldest and dearest friend?"  
Nagisa pulls his face in an exaggerated pout and stomps his foot, "hey! I've known Haru-chan and Mako-chan for as long as you have! I'm their oldest and dearest friend too!"  
"Guys…" Makoto tries unsuccessfully to calm down the two rowdiest members of their group.  
"Besides, I've _always_ known that they'd end up together!" Rin scoffs haughtily, " _everyone_ knew that! But that's different from them _actually_ hooking up!"  
Looking chagrined, Makoto interjects, "I wouldn't say _everyone_ knew…"  
Sousuke snorts, "yeah, you two idiots didn't."  
"Hey!" one of them grumbles.  
Nagisa folds his arms across his chest, "I still say I knew first."

Rin rolls his eyes. There's no point in getting in this argument with Nagisa. Besides, he totally knows that he knew before Nagisa did. "I need another drink."  
"You haven't even finished your first drink yet, Rin-san!"  
"You shouldn't be drinking at all, Rin."  
He brings the bottle to his mouth and snorts, "blow me, Sou," before taking a long drag of beer. Sousuke rests his cheek against his palm and blinks sleepily at him, "I rather suck you."

After a brief, tense _second_ of silence, an uncontrolled frenzy breaks out around the table instantaneously: the beer goes down the wrong pipe and Rin is choking and spluttering gracelessly. He slams the bottle down on the table so hard that the beer bubbles up and gushes through the narrow neck. Nagisa's mouth hangs open in a gleeful squeal and his eyes glimmer in a barely concealed delight while Rei covers half his face in shock, his glasses fogging up from the heat coming from his cheeks. Meanwhile, Haru sips his tea and calmly nods at Sousuke's rebuttal: it was a good come back. And Makoto gapes at the man next to him; he's fully aware of how Sousuke feels about Rin but _holy fucking shit_ , _**this**_ is how he decides to let him know?

Rin is coughing violently, " _ **WHAT**_?!" Sousuke blinks at him drowsily, "hmm?"  
"Don't give me that shit! What the hell, Sou?"  
"What?"  
"Don't play dumb! I know you know what you said!" He rolls his bad shoulder and hums, "I don't recall. Refresh my memory." Rin splutters hotly. "I will not!"  
"You said you'd rather suck Rin," Haru supplies helpfully. Or unhelpfully depending on who you ask. A simultaneous thank you from Sousuke and a burst from Rin made the proceedings at the table even more chaotic: "Ah, that's right. Thank you, Haru."—" _Haru_!"  
Haru's arches an eyebrow, "Oh. Are you MaMakoto-ing me, Rin? It doesn't have the same lilt. It's not sexy. Like Makoto."  
" _Haru_."  
His eyes widen fractionally, "oh. Now I'm getting it from both sides."  
Sousuke snickers giddily and loudly, like a 12-year-old boy discovering the idea of sex for the first time, "phrasing."  
"Really?"  
"You said it, not me."  
"Actually, you said _it_."  
"Oh. I did, didn't I?"  
" _YAMAZAKI_! _WHAT THE FUCK_?"  
Makoto groans and roughly rubs his hand across his face in dismay, "no one but Rin is even drinking! What is happening?!"  
"Do you really need it to be repeated, Rin? _Again_? Because if you do, you might want to get your ears cleaned."  
" _Sousuke_!"  
He sighs in disappointment, "I like it better when Makoto says my name like that… It makes me all… _tingly_ ," he shivers for effect.

Makoto sputters at the confession. Or teasing. It doesn't matter one or the other because Makoto is none too amused that these... _depraved miscreants_ have taken his stern!Makoto voice and twisted it into something... _wicked_.  
" _Sousuke_." _Dammit_ , he winces and curses at himself for unintentionally perpetuating it.

Sousuke pulls up himself at that, sitting straighter and looking at Makoto with interest. "Ooo. Exactly like that. _Tingly_. Do it again, Makoto. Say my name." The lilt in his voice deepens impossibly and his sleepy eyes droop further as his teal eyes gleam mischievously. Sousuke faintly hears Haru snarl in the background and grins delightfully at the way Makoto is looking at him all wide eyed and blushing furiously.

"O-O-O! Mako-chan, Mako-chan! Say my name like that! I wanna feel tingly!"  
"What? No!"  
Makoto hears someone, either Rin or Haru, shout _stop staring at Makoto like that, Yamazaki_! And out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sousuke smirk and lick his teeth as his eyes roams over his profile. He clearly knows Makoto can see him when he did it. Why is he friends with these people? All they do is tease him. It's not fair. One of these days, their teasing will backfire. Unfortunately, today's not that day.  
"Aw. But why not?"  
Haru sucks in a breath and calmly explains, "because you haven't said anything to merit it."  
"Oh, I get it! So if I say something like…" he taps his chin, making it seem like he was in deep contemplation, but he's not fooling _anyone_ as half the table waits with bated breath at the horror show that's about to tumble from the blonde's mouth. "Haru-chan... what does Mako-chan sound like when he comes?"  
" _Nagisa_!" Makoto outright **screeches** in abject horror but Nagisa merely squeals in delight, clapping his hands giddily and flailing his legs.  
"Nagisa-kun, this is so inappropriate!" Rei squeaks hurriedly. Makoto is glad that someone shares in his horror. "Aw, you just feel left out that Mako-chan hasn't said your name like that. Quick, Rei-chan, say something scandalous to get Mako-chan to say your name like that!"  
"I will do no such thing!"  
"But it'll be _beautiful_ if he does!" Rei refuses to look even remotely interested in his friend's shenanigans. "Fine!" He turns back to Makoto, "Mako-chan! Say Rei-chan's name like that!"  
"No!"  
"Come on, Mako-chan! Don't be such a party pooper!"

Rin's patience finally breaks and he pounds his fist on the table, "Nagisa, stop your yammering! I'm trying to have a conversation here! Sou!"  
"Rin."

"Well?"  
"Well, what?"  
He pinches the bridge of his nose and his brows furrow in a combination of irritation, frustration, and annoyance, "holy fucking shit, Sousuke! You're just as difficult as Haru!"  
"We are _nothing_ alike," Haru gripes noisily.  
"You're damn right. I don't smell like mackerel."  
"… _That's_ the best you can do?"  
"Shut up, Mackerel Boy."  
"Your insults are pathetic."

"Sousuke! Stop getting distracted! We need to talk about this!" He slams his fists on the table again, rattling the contents on the rickety table.  
"And you want to do that in front of _everyone_?" He bolts to his feet and yanks Sousuke after him. "Aww! Come back!" Nagisa shouts at their retreating backs, "I want to hear how Sou-chan wants to suck you off!"  
" _NAGISA_!"  
"Sousuke wants to do _what_ to my brother?!"  
Nagisa giggles manically.

They were definitely going to get kicked out...

* * *

"Well, that was a slap and a tickle," Rin sighs heavily as he flops onto the couch next to Haru. "This is all your fault," Haru quietly fumes. It was late and Rin's house was the closest so it was quickly decided that they'd all sleep over.

Which wasn't a problem. No, the problem was Makoto passed out before they even got on the train. Makoto, who is a giant of a human being. Sure, Haru's put on some weight and muscle himself but Makoto still has _at least_ nine kilos on him in addition to eight centimeters. Haru's strong but he's not _that_ strong. Not-carry-76kg-of- _literal-_ dead-weight strong. Whereas other university students were busy putting on weight due to crappy food and copious amounts of beer, the ridiculous human being that is Tachibana Makoto put on threekilograms of _pure muscle_ since high school. So that left Sousuke as the only viable candidate. But he wasn't able to do that himself either. Well, he _could_ but he didn't _want_ to, Haru suspected; he gave some half-assed, lame excuse about his bum shoulder. So after several minutes of debating how best to get him to Rin's, they flanked on either side of him as they half carried, half dragged him to the house.

"Oh, come on! I didn't know they were all a bunch of lightweights!"  
"Idiot."  
"I'm sorry."

"I said I'm sorry."  
"I heard you." He slinks down into his seat and fold his arms across his chest, "did everyone get to sleep okay?" Rin follows suit. "Yeah. They knocked out pretty quickly."

Haru purses his lips, wondering if it's inappropriate to ask but then he remembers that he doesn't care about what is or isn't appropriate. Besides, they're friends. Most of the times. "Are you okay?"  
Rin laughs mirthlessly, "I didn't drink _that_ much."  
"No, I mean..."  
"What?"  
Haru narrows his eyes at the red-head.

 _Is Rin dense? Idiot._

"Sousuke told you he wanted to suck your dick."  
"Jesus, Haru!" A flabbergasted Rin hisses and Haru shakes his head to clear the ringing in his ears.  
"Are you?"  
Rin, still astounded, snaps in annoyance. "Am I _what_?"  
Haru's left eye twitches testily.

 _Oh. He really **is** dense. Fucking idiot. _

"Going to let him suck you off."  
"Fucking hell, Haru! You can't just ask questions like that!"  
"Why not? You do."  
"That's...! That's different!"  
"I fail to see how."  
"You never say anything!"  
"What do you want me to say?"  
"I... I don't know!"  
Haru sucks his teeth peevishly, "it'll just make your face redder than your hair anyway."  
"What? Shut up! You don't know that!"  
"Makoto likes to have his nipples bitten," he offers nonchalantly; like he was telling Rin he had mackerel for breakfast.  
" _Jesus fucking Christ_ , Haru! What the fuck?! Don't tell me that!"  
"See? Redder than your hair."  
"Shut up." Rin turns away from Haru's inquisitive stare to study his chipped nails instead.

"So... Kyoto, huh?"

 _Thank goodness_! _A safe, boring, non-blush-inducing topic_!

"Kyoto," he nods affirmatively. "To be honest, I'm a bit nervous."  
Haru shrugs, unworried, "you'll be fine."  
"I just... I can't believe how scattered we're all gonna be, ya know?"  
"It's not going to be forever. Just a few years. It'll go by quickly. And at least we'll be in the same country."  
"Easy for you to say. You have Makoto with you. Hell, you'll get to see Sousuke more than I will. That is such bullshit." Haru nods, as if Rin had said some revelatory, "so you _do_ want him to suck your dick."  
And for the millionth time tonight, Rin squawks indignantly, "what?! I just meant that he's _my best friend_ , you idiot!" Haru furrows his brows, not exactly understanding what the problem is. "Makoto's my best friend."

 _Oh gods, he is going to..._

"I let him suck my dick."

 _Yep. He is… **Idiot**!_

Rin felt like he couldn't breathe and he's pretty sure his face can now double as a space heater. " _Jesus fucking Christ_ , Haru! Don't tell me that!"  
Exasperated, Haru rolls his eyes and grumbles, "you _always_ fish for details but when I offer it up, you don't want it. Make up your mind," he gripes grumpily.  
"I really fucking hate you, Haru."

There's a quiet, brief, _tense_ silence before Haru says, "I'm glad you'll be in Japan."  
Rin relaxes, breathing easier. "Yeah. Me too."  
"And instead of an 18 hour flight, it'll be much easier for whenever Sousuke wants to suck you off. Or whenever you want to suck him off."  
Rin throws his hands in the air in defeat, "fuck you, Haru," he groans.  
"Not interested. Only Makoto gets to do that."

 _HOW THE FUCK IS HE DOING THIS? How is he saying these things with a straight face? And why am **I** the one whose face is on fire?!_

"Holy fucking shit! I'm going to bed."  
"Are you going to cuddle with Sousuke?"  
He throws a large cushion at Haru's head and snarls, " _SHUT UP, HARU_!"

* * *

"Makoto, wake up," he shakes him impatiently. But only gets grunts and grumbles in response. "We're meeting your parents for morning tea, remember?" Makoto just burrows himself deeper into the blanket. "Makoto!" He glares at the blanketed lump, "I told you you shouldn't have taken that beer. I'm going to kill Rin." Haru shakes him some more. He even tries pinching him but nothing works. "Makoto… Come on. You don't want us to be late do you?"

He rolls off the futon in a huff and when he returns, Makoto shoots up in a cold shock. "Haru!"  
"You wouldn't wake up."  
"That doesn't mean you need to throw cold water on me! The futon's soaked now!" He shrugs carelessly, "it's Rin's. Who cares."  
" _Haru_."  
"That's the less sexy version of the tone."

He crosses arms over his chest and _tries_ to looks disinterested as Makoto peels his soaking wet t-shirt off. "Speaking of Rin... I may have said some things to him last night. ...He might not be able to look you in the eye for a while." Haru begins to get off the futon when Makoto's hand grips his wrist tightly. "Wh-what did you say?"  
He tries his best to look innocent. It's not convincing. At all. "...Nothing."  
" _Haru!_ " Makoto whines and Haru rolls his eyes. He throws a towel at Makoto's head, "get ready."  
"With what? My shirt is soaked!"  
"Find something. We need to leave if we're going to meet your parents for tea."  
"Oh, right. Morning tea."  
"Yeah, morning tea. I want to get going. I want to make a good impression on your parents." Makoto blinks at him owlishly. "Yeah, I couldn't say that with a straight face either," he says. _With a straight face_. "Hurry up."

* * *

Mrs. Tachibana waves at them enthusiastically, "good morning, Haruka-kun, Makoto!"  
"Good morning, mom, dad, Ran, Ren," he greets each of them with hugs and kisses.  
"Morning, obasan, ojisan, Ran, Ren."  
"Good morning, onii-chan, Haru nii-chan!"  
Haru shakes his head at the morning greetings. Has it always been _this_ excessive?

Makoto, out of nowhere, grabs Haru's hand, lacing their fingers together and looks excitedly at his parents. "Mom, dad, I'd like for you to meet my boyfriend, Haru," he grins at the joke but Haru gapes at him, eyes widening comically. He snatches his hand back and he grits, " _idiot_." Makoto pouts playfully at him. "We've been here for three days and you're only doing this _now_?" Just _once_ , he'll humor Makoto. (A lie. He humors Makoto quite a bit. More than quite a bit, really.)  
The table laughs quietly and they shift around in their seats to get comfortable.

Mr. Tachibana coughs the last remantants of his laughter and adjusts his glasses while asking his son, "that wasn't what you were wearing when you left last night, was it?"  
Makoto plucks at his shirt, "oh, uh, no. It's Sousuke's; a friend's. Mine got, um… ruined." He doesn't elaborate further so his mom prods, "did you two have a good night?"  
Makoto nods happily, "yeah. It was nice seeing everyone again."  
"Sorry we didn't make back last night."  
Mr. Tachibana waves him off, "nonsense. It's fine. You're here for two weeks, a night away isn't a big deal. Besides, you're 20 years old. It's understandable."  
"Not yet…"  
"You're turning 20 this year," his mom shrugs her shoulder, "close enough." Makoto's father nods in agreement, "and Haruka-kun will be 20 in three months."

Haru pours tea for everyone. "Thank you for letting me stay with you, obasan, ojisan."  
"Don't be ridiculous, Haruka-kun! Our home _is_ your home. You are always welcome. _Always_." There's a brief pause before she sternly tells him, "and the next time you thank me for something like that, I'll kick you out, understood?" Haru nods shyly with a light blush on his face. Her warmth always seemed to have that effect on him.

She notices the pinkness in his cheeks and, Haru thinks that she may be _the greatest human_ _being_ to **ever** human being, draws attention away from him before anyone else notices and thrusts it onto her unsuspecting son instead. "Makoto... Were you drinking last night?"  
"What? No! Of course not," he vehemently denies.  
"Haruka-kun?" His mom doesn't even _look_ at Haru because she knows he'll tell her the truth.  
"Yes." There's no way he's lying to her. Not after what she just did. Not after _everything_ she's _ever_ done for him.  
"Haru!"  
"I'm not lying to your parents. I need them to like me."  
"They already like you, Haru-chan!" He whines with a pout.  
"It's true," she nods, beaming lightheartedly at him, "we do."  
"Well, I need them to continue to like me. And lay off the -chan."  
"You're just still mad about last night." Makoto's father arches an eyebrow at that, "oh? And what did you do last night, _son_?"  
"Nothing!"  
"Aside from the drinking," Haru grumbles not so quietly.  
"Haru! You just want me to get in trouble."  
"You're in college. You're an adult, Makoto. It's not like they can ground you."  
"It's true," his parents shrug.  
"Traitor," Makoto mutters, unsure of whom to aim it at. He looks over to find Haru blinking at him.

 _I'll make it up to you. I promise._

But Makoto hmphs and turns away. Mrs. Tachibana chuckles at her son's behavior. "So, are there any special requests for tonight? Besides mackerel, of course."  
"No need. My parents will be fine. There's no reason to go through all the trouble."  
"We are having a feast, Haruka-kun. Having my son's boyfriend's parents over for dinner is a big deal," she teases.  
"Not when you've known each other for over a decade."  
"You don't want to fight me on this, Haruka." Throughout the years, he's learned that she means business when she drops the -kun so he nods in defeat. "Yes ma'am."

She suddenly stands and walks up behind them and wraps her arms around the two of them in a warm embrace, "I'm so happy for you boys. I love you," she kisses Makoto's temple. "And I love you," she kisses Haru's temple as well. "You two are so cute."  
"What about us, mom?"  
"Yeah, aren't we cute too?"  
She returns to her seat and ruffles the twins' hair, "Of course, you two are cute. You two are the cutest."

Makoto's still pouting but Haru reaches over and squeezes his knee so he smiles and squeezes him back. A quick peek over and he notices Haru's lips curving upward as he uncharacteristically chats with his family and all he can think is:

 _Gods, I love him so much._

* * *

Heart the Tachibanas.  
Jesus fucking Christ, Sousuke... heart you.  
I'm still dying-laughing.

Thank you for reading! I will be posting exclusively on AO3 after this so follow me there! Thanks for everything!


	10. Chapter 10

Attn: this will be discontinued on FF. Sorry for any inconvenience! But I will be updating over at AO3, so look for this there! Thanks and I hope to meet you there!

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